The Sound a Raven Makes

Book excerpt: Poetry. A triad of strong women's voices, Sawnie Morris of Taos, Michelle Holland of Chimayo, and Catherine Ferguson of Galisteo are gathered together in one volume. These three poets of rural northern New Mexico share a deep language of landscape with river rapids, a blur of hummingbirds, the lingering scent of woodstoves and the inescapable voice of the raven. The book functions as three generous chapbooks, a sampling of poetic geographies and styles. Poet Lisa Gill writes in The Rio Grande Sun, "This is the kind of book that takes your head and repositions it on your neck while a trio of women gently whisper in your ear, 'Look, really look at the world around you.' Together these three poets create a veritable manifesto of how spirit inhabits place."