Buried, hidden — in nature, history and the words of poets who’ve come before — is the riddle of self. These are the elements Hive explores on a lyric journey of quiet affirmation.

In this third finely spun, yet deeply wrought and thoughtful collection of poetry, Randy Kohan, once again, has strung a suite of incantatory songs that shudder the heart and render luminous glimpses of the poet’s constant striving as he moves back and forth across the ages, and always forward, toward the vision that constantly compels the poet to speak

the dove grey breathless sounds
you feared you’d never hear

Traveling the knife-edge path Kohan walks, we hear that:

There is a measure of madness
In all that we do, held in a cold
Stone of boldness, stone of measured calm.

~ Pierrette Requier,
6th Edmonton Poet Laureate, 2015 – 2017

Hive is Randy Kohan’s third collection of lyric poetry with Ekstasis Editions. His previous works are Rain of Naughts (2015) and Hammers & Bells (2013). Two of his poems, “Trains” and “Northern Monks,” can be viewed as poetry videos on YouTube. He lives in Edmonton with his wife and their two sons.