Across the Light

Although Bruce Owens has been crafting and publishing poetry for over forty years and is considered by many to be an undiscovered national treasure, he remains one of America's great, unsung poets. Across the Light is not only home to his most recent poems, it is a quintessential body of work from this contemporary master of the language whose foundation in beauty and spirit lends a generous and responsive perspective to his work. Some of these poems, in slightly different forms, have appeared in The Prairie Review, Indiana Voice Journal, William Everson: Remembrances & Tributes, and several previous collections to include Quiet Places, Eddies in the Rush, A Passage Through Stone, and Mend the Broken Branch. "Some people try to find their voice, some are found by it. Bruce Owens seems to be one of the latter, and reading his poems, I too, felt found-by ecstasy and vulnerability. To read Across the Light is to take a journey into the resilience of the human body and heart. Equal parts romantic and rugged, this collection points to the importance of solitude and, at the same time, how very much we need each other." Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer, author of Even Now, The Less I Hold, and The Miracle Already Happening "The poems in this collection establish Bruce Owens as one of today's most accomplished poets. His poems are rich in detail, striking in clarity and grace. Owens writes from the heart with power and passion, weaving together worlds both seen and unseen. His lines are sometimes deliberately simple, and often surrealistic, as he takes us to the edge of a dream, then leaves us there, marveling at what we have just discovered. This book belongs in every community library". Janine Pickett, Indiana Voice Journal "Bruce has found a voice in poetry that beautifully frames thought in a language that resonates deep within where the ordinary and even mundane day to day things of life become spectacularly significant. He masterfully does that also with a camera - where a moment witnessed by many as quite ordinary, is captured and highlighted in a way that one wonders how it was possible not to see it like that in the first place! Reading his poems, then becomes an adventurous journey where one often finds oneself drawn into the moment not merely as honored audience but also as welcome participant." Francois Du Toit author of Divine Embrace and The Eagle Story "Bruce Owens is one of the most powerful, original, visually and emotionally compelling poets in the English language. He's been amazing me for 40 years with the depth and scope of his genius." James Dalessandro, author of 1906 and Canary in a Coal Mine. "Bruce is unlike any poet or writer I've come across. He meets me where I want to live. His poems, like the very finest . . . catch me off-guard, building line after line, until I forget I'm reading poetry. I'm simply lost in a scene that seems written only for me." John Lynch, author of On My Worst Day "Like a lot of people, I've appreciated poetry all my life but can't honestly say I've been one who has been passionate about it. Well, that was true until I encountered Bruce Owens. When I first began to read his poetry, something inside me shifted. For the first time, instead of being an outsider looking into a poem, I experienced what could only be called the transcendent sensation of being inside it. I didn't read it. It read me. Bruce's poetry seemed to somehow know how to touch the nerves connected to the existential questions about life and sooth me. For a man who doesn't consider himself particularly artsy or one of unusual literary aptitude, his poems do something to me. Something good that always leaves me wanting more." Dr. Steve McVey Best selling author o
About the Author: Bruce Owens lives in Santa Cruz, California. He lectures on the nature of the creative process, and conducts poetry workshops, mainly with young adults, especially those struggling with addictions or who have come from abusive households, using poetry as an instrument of self discovery and as an entry into the world around us.