A Key to the Grove and Other Poems

Peter Coe Verbica's 3rd edition of remarkable poetry. Readers have described his writing as "crisp!," "distilled," "beautiful, tender, touching to the soul," "evocative and moving." Additional Praise for Verbica's Poetry: "These are terrific poems, by turns romantic and comic, confessional and descriptive. Each offering is wise, surprising, authentic, and rendered with beautiful and arresting figurative language. I have rarely read a collection that I could say was entertaining, but Peter Coe Verbica has accomplished that with his keen eye, huge heart, and wit." Ron Hansen, Author of Desperadoes, Mariette in Ecstasy, Hitler's Niece. "Most of us wrestle with one demon or another, and Peter Verbica is no exception. But his demons lie in wait inside his well-crafted and deceptively homespun poems. After we enter and pass through his personal darkness, the sun seems to finally rise over him. The language snaps like branches in winter, crackles like firelight, and finally washes down like summer rain." Greg Pliska, Composer "What is poetry but an invitation for us to take risks? That's what I enjoy best about Peter Verbica's work. He doesn't scold humanity for being dishonest. He knows that no one would listen. Instead, he uses his poetic license to be open about his own feelings, no matter how raw or unrefined. Peter plays upon his audience's heartstrings with unflinching sincerity and grace. His poems will lift your spirits, encourage you to question and may inspire you to find the divine in the most ordinary." The Rev. Steve Privett, S.J. President, University of San Francisco "Peter Coe Verbica's A KEY TO THE GROVE allows us to witness the perceptions and hesitations of a lively contemporary mind in unfettered fluency and fluidity. There should be a law, we think, against writing so well with such easy-going fecundity. Each poem's twists and turns struck this reader as simultaneously unexpected and inevitable. Never heavy-handed, always open to the spontaneous revisions of experience, Verbica allows us to grow with him as he skeptically surveys the world as he finds it. The book is unusually handsome visually as well as verbally. What fountains forth here in one of our local poets can only be admired and envied." Vito Victor, author of "Desert Song" "Original and inventive." Maggie Paul, author of Borrowed World "A great collection of poems!! His poems were so intense and vivid that you could feel his emotions. Some of his love poems were a little gut wrenching and hard to finish as they evoked your own memories of love. It was as if you were looking into his soul. This is a great little book to have in your collection." Melissa Menser Scarpace, Teacher, Member of the popular Santa Cruz Roller Derby Girls, reviewing Verbica's second edition of poetry.