Praise for The Salvation of Me

Spencer K. M. Brown has wrought an entire world from his words, one where he searches to find God in the grain of a log split for the fire, where with tenderness and desire he kisses his wife’s chest, a world in which he hopes to “learn the language of the unutterable” in order to address the divine. His are poems of the spirit, of restlessness and doubt and the sweet salve of love that provides a bit of faith. He is an honest seeker asking the eternal questions that travel down through time. I’m grateful for the beauty and care in his writing, the way he invites us into a domestic space filled with the common duties of a father and husband, then shows us a path into the forest at night so we may hear the barred owl croon and know we might be saved.

—Todd Davis, author of Ditch Memory: New & Selected Poems and Coffin Honey

Every observation is a prayer in The Salvation of Me, and every poem a devotion. In this thrilling and austere debut collection of poems by Spencer K. M. Brown, there are “honeybees whispering their amber noise in my ear,” and even “the bone-dust of little fish and snakes” is collected and admired and praised. The poet wanders “the ghost-light” of evening woods and praises “the whorl of dust my soul drags behind it.” Over and over, these poems give us the sacred details of the everyday, and we end up a fellow pilgrim through the ordinary that is blessed and made new by such art. What a beautiful book of poems.

—Steve Scafidi, author of The Appalachian Sea

Beginning with epigraphs by William Carlos Williams and Robert Frost, Brown demonstrates in his own poems what made both these canonized writers the favorites of generations: rich imagery, lyrical dexterity, and emotional transparency. Whether he’s examining fatherhood, nature, or the complexity of life in the American South, Brown’s words unite allusion with authenticity in a style reminiscent of Robert Wrigley or Rodney Jones. Darkness and light share equal space in this collection, with animal bones and lopped-off appendages standing alongside tender reflections on family and faith. The Salvation of Me is a package of delights for the discerning poetry reader.

—John Davis Jr., author of The Places That Hold

In The Salvation of Me, Spencer K.M. Brown holds to that maxim "no ideas but in things!" It would be easy enough to read this as a beautiful catalogue of things: a heron stalking a meal in still waters, or a dog named Atlas bounding into one poem and out in another as if chasing a scent off the page. Slow down though and the poems will lead you to consider what the heron sees beneath those waters, or what heavens Atlas' namesake considered as he held them on his shoulders. Nestle in the shaded wood as a husband and wife wordlessly listen to their children play, or sit alone with the owl listening to its questions in the night. Brown gives us meditations on things, yes, but bring your attention to this collection and your heart will stand up. 

—Seth Wieck, author of Call Out Coyote