The Memory Chest in Bloomington, MN

With an unmistakable voice and a depth of presence, Leventhal's work zooms out and back inward, taking stock of it all. His poems survey the surrounding landscapes: be it historical, natural, political, or emotional. They reflect on love and loss with vulnerability, and on the prospect of aging with optimism and gratitude. They travel centuries back in time and simultaneously ask the question of what it means to be alive in the world today. Years of leadership in the Jewish community provides him access to Biblical language and wisdom. The artwork that accompanies the poems creates and elegant conversation between visual art and poetry. There is a deep reverence within many of these works that is balanced out by Leventhal's refusal to take himself too seriously, his zest for life, beaming in words and brushstrokes from these pages. (Dakota Read- Editor)