[Tim Murphy]

Playing at Stillness is Rhina Espaillat’s new collection of verse. There is much here for every Spherean to admire as Rhina writes in free verse, syllabics, and accentual syllabic, her staple. It is published by Truman State University Press and can be ordered at tsup.truman.edu. Going this route will yield twice as much revenue to the publisher as ordering through Amazon or Barnes and Noble. The publisher graciously sent the manuscript to two Sphereans, and we contributed these jacket comments:

Rhina Espaillat’s poems almost never fail to give me pleasure; even in her slighter poems one finds a serene technical skill, charm, wit and good sense. And when the theme asks for her best and the spirit is on her, she gives us again and again what Borges like to call ‘el thrill.’ I can think of few contemporary poems as thrilling as “Vandalism,” “Instruction,” “When We Sold the Tent,” “November Music,” “Cousins,” and “Old House,” and there are others. In a dark age she gives off light. She is one of our finest poets.

--Robert Mezey

Rhina Espaillat’s immaculate verse is characterized by a bemused melancholy and serenity that are precious hard to find in American letters. A greater contrast to her contemporaries (and I believe her inferiors), Plath and Sexton, would be similarly hard to find. This is a wonderful collection in which every parent will find the best poem for a son’s wedding that I have ever read (yes, even better than Wilbur’s!). But readers familiar with Espaillat might be surprised by the wit with which she rebukes Nature in “Back Yard Talk,” or the God in whom she disbelieves in “On the Avenue.”

--Tim Murphy

[Richard Wakefield]

This is wonderful news. I just received a couple of enormous boxes of poetry from my editor, but as soon as Rhina's book arrives all those others will be shoved aside and left to gather dust.
RPW

[Susan McLean]

Wonderful to hear that she has another so soon. Any book of hers goes onto my list of necessary poetry--the kind that enlarges my world and reminds me of what reading is for.

Susan

[Janet Kenny]

An ESSENTIAL book.

Janet

[Terese Coe]

Playing at Stillness: another title packed with meaning, and no doubt the poems are too! Congratulations, Rhina!

Terese

[Robin-Kemp]

Oh joy! I'm more than ready to read more of what Rhina has to offer!!! Congratulations, mi amor, de nosotros--y esperamos a West Chester!

Robin y Raysa

[Rhina P. Espaillat]

Thank you, guys! I'm heartened by all these responses from future readers! And more than grateful to Tim Murphy and Bob Mezey for their generous comments on the book, as to Lewis Turco and Julia Alvarez, my fellow Dominican, for theirs.

One thing I want everyone to note: the gorgeous photograph on this book cover, which is so good that if there were nothing on the pages inside it would still be worth owning. The photographer is Dr. George Brawerman, an old and very dear friend married to my high school best friend.

In fact, I have crazy luck with book covers: my last one, "The Shadow I Dress In," sports a cover photo by my foster son, Gaston Dubois, formerly a NYC professional photographer. It's so perfect for the poems in that book that it's as if he had gone out looking for a scene to convey what the poetry feels like.