Light Me Down: The New & Collected Poems of Jean Valentine

Book excerpt: One of the most beloved and influential American poets, National Book Award Winner Jean Valentine published twelve full-length collections of poetry, and all of them--plus an entirely new, unpublished manuscript-- can be found in this masterful collection of her entire life's work. Ada Limon states, "The extraordinary poems of Jean Valentine have often existed in the between spaces, the caves, the secret rooms of the mind. They are gorgeous wonders and curiosities that bring us a new kind of light. The Collected Poems of Jean Valentine will no doubt serve as an essential handbook for anyone looking to lean into the knotty questions of human existence."