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Praise for Outwalking the Shadow
Over the years, I have watched, with admiration, Debra Kaufman steadily and elegantly amass a body of work that brilliantly illuminates the daily minute-by-minute hazards and epiphanies of abiding in this capricious earth. With both eyes open, a capacious heart, and a lyric, contemplative voice, she graciously, courageously, ignites the moment, however flickering, however ephemeral—even harrowing—yet always worthy of her precise, shimmering language. The great Adrienne Rich wrote that “[s]ensual vitality is essential to the struggle for life.” Kaufman understands this aesthetic perfectly, as well as “the struggle.” Outwalking the Shadow is powerfully and unabashedly sensual, Kaufman at her unflinching absolute best: “one voice lifted / to the troubling, never-ending skies”—a tapestry of praise and righteous caution. What an immaculate, necessary, and beautiful book.
—Joseph Bathanti, former Poet Laureate of North Carolina and author of twelve poetry collections
Outwalking the Shadow opens with a wren’s warning song and ends with the poet apologizing to the wren: “I am sorry, sorry, so so sorry, / for what you don’t know is coming.” Still, for all the dark at its heart, this collection is radiant with the lightness of a love for this world. Debra Kaufman’s poetry is clear and emotionally compelling, a lyrical search for identity and truth through pain, loss, and the fierce beauty of nature.
—Judy Goldman, author of Child: A Memoir and Losing My Sister
About the author
Poet and playwright Debra Kaufman is the author of God Shattered, Delicate Thefts, The Next Moment (all from Jacar Press), and A Certain Light (Emrys Press), as well as three chapbooks. A Midwest native, she lives in central North Carolina.
Bringing books to market, one manuscript at a time!
Since 2017, Redhawk Publications at Catawba Valley Community College has been proud to bring distinctive voices and original books to life, with more than 200 titles published so far. We are one of only a handful of community colleges in the United States with a literary press. To learn more about Redhawk, our submission guidelines, local literary services, or writing workshops, feel free to contact Patty Thompson at pthompson994@cvcc.edu.
Books are available for purchase through our website and directly from our authors at book events. We encourage readers to support authors and small presses by buying directly whenever possible.