UNTIL THE WORDS CAME

Until The Words Came is a soft duel between equally matched players, Guy Reed and Cheryl A. Rice. In an open Catskill field, without seconds, they come to aim poems at each other: poems culled from dream and memory; about language, written, spoken and unspoken; poems about readings – the Dodge, the Colony Cafe; poems about poets – Lev, Sexton, Kunitz, Collins, Plath, O’Hara, Ashbery. The honor to uphold is poetry, and Reed and Rice uphold it well. 

– Janet Hamill

BUY NOW – Post Traumatic Press

Planet Poet - Words in Space Podcast Recording

Review by Jessica Reed for A Time and Place Magazine, November, 2019.

Guy Reed and Cheryl A. Rice write poetry. They not only write poetry, they speak poetry. Separately, they are accomplished poets with an impressive ability to arrange ordinary words in extraordinary ways. If they each published their own works, they would have successful books that resonate. However, something else happened. Something magical. During poetry readings it became apparent that their poems complemented each other’s. They began to take a tag team approach, taking turns reading their work. Their audiences were charmed and the book was born. The reason this book works so well, is that Reed and Rice are not competitive, they are harmonious. The poetry pieces only have the names of the authors in the glossary and are not in a consecutive pattern of Reed, Rice, Reed, Rice. The result is that the reader’s reality can become suspended as the poetry melds together seamlessly, as if there is only one writer. I challenged myself to guess which poem belonged to which writer and was successful half of the time. 

   This handsome, slim volume is easy to read in small increments, or, as I did, straight through. These poets shellac, sharpen and whittle their words into poems about pennies, bats and wearing the color red. They write about words, nearly redefining them. There are generous pieces about famous poets of the past and muses of the present. Imagine if you will, poets’ poetry about poets. Reed’s first poem states, “Let’s create new letters to build new words, save our tongues from indifference...while Rice’s first poem reads, “ From the time I could hold a pencil I could make it do my bidding, until the words came…” If you like poetry, this book is for you. If you don’t like poetry, this book is for you. Available from Post Traumatic Press.