Occasional Cleavage is an extraordinary collection of poems, selected from more than five decades of work, that track the evolution of poet Brian Richards. He paints vivid pictures with intricate words and explores the compelling themes of the natural world, love, loss, relationships, sex, and adventure. He writes of the power and sheer beauty found in nature - mighty trees in vast forests, birdsong, the change of seasons, the smallest of "criks," and the view from a ridge overlooking the Ohio. He is open to the teachings contained in small moments and explores with clarity the mysteries of our daily experience. His poems are often complex and faceted and require a thoughtful reader. Other poems are filled with whimsy and humor. Interspersed throughout the collection are tiny jewel-like poems reminiscent of haiku without the confines of lines and syllables.

A master craftsman, Richards makes use of rhythm, the intervals of line and stanza, the play of language and metaphor. Occasional Cleavage is a collection one will want to read over and over again. It is certainly a book that poetry lovers will want in their libraries.

The poet, who is seventy-three, was brought up in Perrysburg, Ohio. He graduated from Bowling Green State University and was a fellow at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. He has been writing poetry since his teens. Richards has traveled widely throughout the United States and even worked as a logger on the Olympic Peninsula. Married twice, the father of four daughters and grandfather to 9, he presently lives in the Shawnee State Forest, and is an adjunct at Shawnee State University in Portsmouth, Ohio.

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