Sandra Beasley

How to Match the Sky

Arts & Literature

“‘Why did Jesus eat fish / if He stands for non-violence?’ So asks ‘Shelter,’ one of the many invitational, sweetly subversive poems in Kendall Hoeft’s How to Match the Sky. This vibrant debut roves from Christian theology to prehistoric landscapes, from desiring sea to tempestuous heavens, as speakers examine the tension between who we have been and who we need to become. The poet’s tenacious intellect, equal parts honesty and curiosity, examines the expected states of water—ice, liquid, vapor—and adds a wildcard fourth, plasma, evoking body and blood. Full of playfulness in diction and motif, the collection ultimately pairs heavy questions with a phoenix-like determination to rise: ‘scarlet pin pricks resurrecting / feathers over campfire.’”