Books by Risa Denenberg

"The beauty of faith isn't so much about paradise as it isthe absence before, the gap we must leap in order to land.In her meditative and profound book slight faith, RisaDenenberg plants her feet before the divide, wrestles withthe angels of loss and doubt. 'There is nothing,' Denenbergwrites, 'on the other side for certainty to dine on.' Yet,there is so much in this book that nourishes.'These are days of awe,' she writes and while readingthese poems I too am opened up to a sense of fear andwonder. These poems speak to the sacred within andoutside of us. There is death and pain but inevitably thereis 'the slipperiness of hope.' There is an almost reluctantacceptance of pleasure. 'I've grown passably / fond ofrain,' she says and I can't help but smile as she tries forsomething 'more pastoral.'Despite the scope of Denenberg's poetry, which spansgenerations and religions and loves, her talent for restraintoffers the subtle power and influence of a musical score.It is a difficult and fine balance to strike. Although shemay write from and for the perspective of those who onlypraise or lament, she recognizes the very different silencesthat come after. We are given invaluable moments ofintrospection. Tightly crafted, wise with a quietly passionateheart, slight faith will make a reader leap and marvel."-Michael Schmeltzer, author of Blood Song