"'Sand' is an apt title for this collection of poetry], as sand is the essence of our regional soil, and one might easily assume that Al Bona too is an essence of our regional spirit--though of far greater complexity than sand. But sand is also an old word for grit--meaning grit of spirit, as in true grit. If a man had "sand," he had quiet toughness or tenacity. Or pluck. And here it is in these poems: the rich mix of quirky self-deprecation and feisty defiance, skilled stylistics tandemed with startling music, wide-ranging intellectual curiosity with a heart both quizzical and tender. Al Bona's poems are born in the regions of history, politics, philosophy and war, but come to fruition in the plain country of human frailty and hard questions. From Catullus to Ginsburg, he is fearless in subject matter, practiced in compassion, sharp of wit... In these poems we find the 'science' of the spirited mind, the 'magic' that happens when lyricism meets unflinching vision." --Anne-Marie Oomen, author of "Un-coded Woman" and "An American Map"