Maxine Chernoff a Fourteen Hills friend and four time contributor, 17.1, 11.1, 5.2, and 1.1, has a new book of poetry Without, which is her thirteeth full legnth poetry book.

Without - Maxine Chernoff 

Maxine Chernoff’s new book of poetry Without (Shearsman Press, 2012) invites us to slow, to open,  and to savor every succinct piece. Each poem is a meditation and a riddle;  each one pierces and reflects.  From the absence of long lines and stanza  breaks (until the final piece, “[without without]”) to the presence of the word  “without” in each bracketed title, consistency of form provides the security  we require to allow the wide-ranging imagery to take shape. In this  landscape of gracefully tenuous connections, Chernoff has constructed an  intricate network of openings and anchors. The experience is that of rooted exploration, making us sharper and the world new again. We are shown how stillness amplifies movement, how calm holds chaos, how what is not makes way for what is. In this space, Chernoff's words – and the silences between them – generate energy and life. Without is all at once welcoming and challenging; it ignites and supports our rediscovery of those crevices in our lives we had not yet realized we had forgotten to consider, to reject, or to revere.  

 Diana Rosinus
 Asst. Poetry Editor
 Fourteen Hills