Barbara Crooker

Nov 7, 2024 | christiancentury.org | Barbara Crooker |Jack Jenkins |Aleja Hertzler- McCain |Heidi Neumark

On the dedication page of Barbara Crooker’s new poetry collection, we read that her book is “For Richard, da cuore.” The Italian phrase can mean “with all my heart,” or even “from heart to heart.” The Richard in question is her husband, who died in 2021 after 46 years of marriage. And so, from the very start of this volume we are alerted to the kind of journey these poems will take: to loss, decline, and death. What can counter these inevitabilities?