Time Remaining

“James P. Lenfestey is a poet who loves the world, the body, language, and the work of other poets, deeply. He writes out of a place of wonder, curiosity, and joy. This volume has wisdom and wit, sustenance for the indignities of age. There is friendship and fellowship to be had in these pages.”

“Not surprisingly, given its subtitle—‘Body Odes, Praise Songs, Oddities, Amazements’—this is a joyful book. What brings joy in these poems is, however, often something unexpected and to be cherished all the more for that reason. What is perhaps most surprising, and most touching, is the melancholy that underlies the joy in some of the book’s most powerful poems. ‘The Forgiveness of the Catbird,’ for example, is filled in equal measure with both love and regret. Time Remaining is the perfect title for a book that says, in every poem, there are so many ways to love the world and be amazed by it: don’t leave any out! There is genuine wisdom in this book, hard won and generous. A book to treasure for its many ways of opening the reader to the world in all its amazements.”

“Time Remaining is a wonder-filled collection, composed with some of Neruda’s spirit as distilled through the meditative, clear language of the ancient Chinese poets for whom James P. Lenfestey has felt long affection and affinity. One of the most open, life-affirming, generous writers you’ll ever encounter.”

“What a marvelous collection of joy, generosity, and wisdom! Lenfestey devoted his life to freeing poetry fossilized by daily grimes, to letting language sing and dance again so we can have a glimpse of beauty and love. He succeeded greatly.”