Settled for the Night
- Arts & Literature
- Publisher: Resource Publications (Wipf and Stock)
- Published: 2026
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Publisher's Description
Settled for the Night is Ralph Stevens's fifth poetry collection. Informal in tone yet serious (and sometimes humorous) these poems attend to the experiences of childhood and aging in both the natural and human worlds. As in previous collections, Stevens draws on imagery from both worlds, taking the reader into the company of deer and crows, to woodland paths and pools, even asking that readers consider the odor of a skunk. Here, however, there is greater attention to "man's inhumanity to man" with references to human-inflicted suffering. At the same time, childhood wonder is observed--from the bow of a boat, in the green of an arboretum. Overall, the collection celebrates life in all its forms, as well as inviting consideration of what it is to face old age and death. The reader will come away from this collection reassured of the beauty and value of human life.
Endorsements (2)
“Ralph Stevens’s poems are lessons in mindfulness, of paying attention to the world within and without. The poems are a looking out—to a streetscape, to a body of water—while giving us images that pile up in a deep contemplation. A sense of reverence, of oneness with nature—watching boats unloading a catch in the harbor becomes a prayer for healing, how a poppy bursts its color to wash away darkness—precisely how truth percolates through a poet’s mind, teaching us how to hold the world in thought, in gratitude, in quiet solace.”
“In an unexpected delight, Stevens’s Settled for the Night politely called to my imagination, asked it to wake up and remember what life was like when I was a young daydreamer. Poem after poem, there’s a quiet pulling back of the curtains of ‘what is’ to reveal ‘what could be,’ sometime, somewhere else. There is wisdom in this poetry, and a surprising gentleness that makes even the rough edges of life seem smoother. In ‘At Peace with Darkness,’ we read ‘So with the silence of this walk, / the space it makes for musing.’ Such a soft reminder of the importance of stepping away from daily noise. This is a book to read in a quiet place where neither your heart nor your imagination is restrained or disturbed.”
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