Although J.R. Solonche started placing poems in magazine, journals, and anthologies in the early 70s, his first book of poetry,
Peach Girl: Poems for a Chinese Daughter
, co-written with his wife, did not appear until 2002 and his own first collection,
Beautiful Day
, not until 2015. Just this March, Years Later, his twenty-second book, was published. That's a lot of books, too many for most readers to buy. But they don't have to. They can buy just one. It's his twenty-third.
Selected Poems: 2002 - 2021
is a generous offering of his favorite poems from most of those books, including the two nominated for the Pulitzer Prize
, Invisible
(2017) and
Piano Music
(2020) and the 2020
Shelf Unbound
Notable Indie Book, The Porch Poems. In her introduction to
Selected Poems: 2002-2021
, Grace Cavalieri says, "The absolute best remark I can make about this book is that I would give it to non-readers of poems as a conversion to poetry, for its language is as available as rain; hopeful as sunshine; and fresh as the wind. It's a perfect book to let the reading public know that this is America's poetry. This is a serious book disguised as playfulness, and we are its lucky recipients."
J.R. Solonche has published poetry in more than 400 magazines, journals, and anthologies since the early 70s.