The holy surprise of right now

the long version

For forty years, Samuel Hazo has written a poetry of the world exactly as he sees it: a place where struggles between family members, friends, and nations are endured and sometimes settled by calm assurance; where art and the pursuit of one's talents require a special kind of bravery; where change - the birth of a child, the passing of friends, the death of heroes - is a constant to be solemnly honored and often celebrated. From his first book, through the National Book Award finalist Once for the Last Bandit, to his newest poems, Hazo's themes have remained consistent. With each collection he wonders anew at the persistence of mortality in the midst of vibrant living and of love in all our relations. In this lithe, metrical lines, he writes with equal ease of Geneva, Switzerland, or Johnstown, Pennsylvania; of the matador Manolete in his dying moments or the innocent eyes of an eleven-year-old son; of the rewards of creating great art or the frustrations and joys of driving a Roosevelt Coupe. With The Holy Surprise of Right Now, Hazo gives his readers a powerful summation of his work to date.