Annie Woodford, author of Where You Come From Is Gone
"Linda Neal Reising’s collection Navigation is both a lyric, melodic experience and an examination of histories, both intimate and vast. Navigation, with its carefully crafted poems of sonic resonance, is a sort of sacred harp singing in book form. Reising examines the delicate interplay between the body and art, between mortality and language, and how the artist persists in a world made of suffering. It is a book about the history of America—indigenous and working-class, geologic and pop culture—but it is also a book that pulls the reader close through deft and engaging storytelling. The arrangement of these poems carries the reader along—like a beautifully realized song—culminating in moments of incredible human tenderness and the hope that, as Reising writes, “Perhaps there is something holy, after all, in this unholy disorder around us.”
Ron Wallace, author of Life Is a Disappearing Act
"I have read much poetry. I know many poets. I believe the job of good poetry and good poets is to move their readers, and oh Lord, has Linda Neal Reising’s new book, Navigation, moved me. What can I possibly say to prepare a reader for what lies ahead as they navigate through the four parts that make up this book? The opening poem of Part I, “After Learning That a Woman and propels you page after page. The Americana, the well-chosen epigraphs, the Native understanding of the land and trials of poor families during hard times are masterful. This is a book not to be missed.”
Karen Kay Knauss, author of SAND, At The Mercy of The Wind
"If one were sailing the sea of life “in a little paper boat,” the waypoints leading to some proverbial safe harbor would be easily recognized along the course so capably charted in Reising’s Navigation. With her distinctive imagination…the cardinal “slipped off her wings, and chose to walk all the way back to heaven,” and her exceptional percipience of real life experiences, Reising reveals the mastery of her poetic skills. And in spite of life’s obstacles, Reising suggests a safe harbor is within sight…a place where “sparrows sky-write lovelorn letters, where cedars keep sentry…” where “the apricot tree grows tiny moons.”
Ken Hada, author of Contour Feathers, winner of the 2022 Oklahoma Book Award
"The poetry of Linda Neal Reising presents an insightful mix of mythology, history and imagination. Her novelette helps us understand the unknown, but plausible, details of a fascinating, albeit, tragic life. Linda's combination of research and imagination provides a compelling reading – "story truth" – beyond a paraphrase of simple legend, or the limits of historical record. Readers will appreciate not only this glimpse of Oklahoma history, but also what the artistic reconstruction suggests for us all."
B.K. Froman, award-winning author of Hardly Any Shooting Stars Left
"Linda Neal Reising unravels a Greek-like tragedy on the Western plains with a beautifully written story transporting the reader to the world of yesteryear. The nuanced portrait of troubled times and a troubled heart make the reader ponder the tale again and again after the last page. Well done!"
Paul Juhasz, author of Ronin, finalist for the 2022 Oklahoma Book Award
"Fast-paced and lyric, part thought-experiment, part giving witness, The Legend of Vivia Thomas continues, on a much deeper scale, the concept of Reising’s last book, Stone Roses: the unpacking of an experienced life from a name on a page. In very real and profound ways, Vivia’s journey is synecdochic, a study of love and of community, and how each is forged within the cauldron of loss."
