Kathleene West s poetry is unflinchingly raw, honest, and emotional; West does not forget her feminist roots or her predecessors in verse: Anne Sexton and Sylvia Plath. Her poetry, hard and unforgiving as the Plains territory it springs from, takes the reader places unexpected, into familiarities and descriptions of people, art, and encounters that only West pulls off so well. Her poetry has always been revolutionary, and, sadly, this last book is evidence of a voice that had places left to go. As her long-time editor and friend in poetry, I respected and admired her bravery to explore her uncomfortable world and the pain that her poetry must have often caused her. Mark Sanders, editor, Sandhills Press"