First poetry book by poet and disability activist who authored the bestseller Planet of the BlindWith this his first collection of poetry Stephen Kuusisto author of the memoir Planet of the Blind explores blindness and curiosity loneliness and the found instruments of continuation Exploiting the seeming contradiction of poetrys reliance upon visual imagery with Kuusistos own sightlessness these poems cultivate a world of listening to the natural world to the voices of family and strangers to music and the words of great writers and thinkersKuusisto has written elsewhere I see like a person who looks through a kaleidoscope my impressions of the world at once beautiful and largely useless So it is no surprise that in his poems mortal vision is uncertain supported only by the ardor of imagination and the grace of lyric surprise Sensually rich and detailed Kuusistos poems are humorous complex and intellectually engaged This collection reveals a major new poetic talentOnly Bread Only LightAt times the blind see lightAnd that moment is the Sistine ceilingGrace among buildingsno one asksFor it no one asks After all this is solitudeDaylights finger Blakes angel Parting willow leavesI should know betterGet with the business Of walking the lovely satisfied Indifferent weatherBread bakingOn Arthur AvenueThis first warm day of JuneI stand on the corner For priceless secondsNow everything to me falls shadowStephen Kuusistos 1998 memoir Planet of the Blind received tremendous international attention including appearances on Oprah Dateline and Talk of the Nation The New York Times named it a Notable Book of the Year and praised it as a book that makes the reader understand the terrifying experience of blindness a book that stands on its own as the lyrical memoir of a poet A spokesperson for Guiding Eyes for the Blind Kuusisto teaches at Ohio State University