He Is Walking Wider

There is something very New York about this fine collection by Ellen Pober Rittberg. There's humor and social witness. But what sticks is the quickness of perception-particularly in the quirky and wise observations the poet draws from the imposing plethora of experience that life in a busy metropolis can be. Koan-like images are massaged out of the cacophony that only a tried and true denizen of New York can execute, one who pays close attention to everything while seeming to not pay any attention. In "Subway Poses," for example, Rittberg delivers incisive snapshots gathered with a "street-smart" aplomb. This imagistic skill-the ability to find character in the smallest perceptual detail-takes on its truest force in her intimate family poems. Poems for father, mother, child, all are imbued an emotional honesty and fullness cannot fail to win the willing reader's heart.

-George Wallace, Writer in Residence, Walt Whitman Birthplace

In He Is Walking Wider, Ellen Rittberg's inventive new collection of poems, we get a marvelous array of sensations and perspectives, a big Whitman spirit in short Creeley lines. In fresh, vital language, the poems explore passages from one stage to another, one era to another. Something's lost, Rittberg seems to say, but something's gained. In the collection's most recent poem, the poet wonders if we've entered a tunnel without end. If that's the case, I'm glad we have poets like Rittberg to provide some illumination in the darkness.

--Tim Tomlinson, Author of Requiem for the Tree Fort I Set on Fire (poetry) and This Is Not Happening to You (fiction)

The poems in He Is Walking Wider are filled with astute attention to the details of everyday life that resonate with and caress the heart. Written tenderly, the poems sing lustily, with shades of Whitman making appearances along with visitations from the likes of Fernando Botero and Peter Lorre. Whether enjoying the Waldeinsamkeit of the forest, contemplating the array of fellow riders on a NYC subway, sharing her adventures with online dating, or ending her marriage, Rittberg shares her observations with insight and humor. These are poems filled with celebration, wit, love, and pluck, and I highly recommend the collection.

--Karen Neuberg, Author of Persuasion and The Elephants are Walking