Character Shoes, Light Kate

Kate Light published her first three books in a little less than ten years, which perhaps did not allow enough time for those of us who read her work then to realize just how original a poet Kate was, in her intricate music, her uncommon measures, her unsparingly personal matter. Now we have her fourth book of poems and sonnets, CHARACTER SHOES, a posthumous work that gathers most of the lyric poems she wrote in the years after those books appeared. One can only hope that many new readers will be drawn to this most personal of poets and share her work for its grace, courage, and elegance.�Charles Martin

Whatever their subjects�childhood recollections, a trip to Italy, the life of a dancer and musician, relationships both happy and unhappy, or language itself�the poems of CHARACTER SHOES are distinguished throughout by the sparkling wit, mastery of craft, and depth of feeling that inform Kate Lights unique body of work. The last poem in this last book of hers begins, Words, we ask so much of you. What she asked of the words she chose was answered in the form of these beautiful and memorable poems.�Michael Palma