Joseph Ross

Praise for Meeting Bone Man -- "These poems by Joseph Ross in Meeting Bone Man read like translations--not from another language, but from a separate way of being, of understanding. Ross writes his way into the depths of the world in which we live, respecting and properly naming each similarity and difference for what it is--sometimes, for what it should be. This is a lovely book of poems."

Praise for Meeting Bone Man -- "I finish this beautiful, brave book with tears and a desire to run outside into blue chill day singing, calling to dogs and birds, sifting layers of elegy and affection that surround us all, gifts of recognition/recovery, precious connections and letting go, all of it at once, with our minds and our bones, yes, with everything we know. Oh brother, thank you, Joseph Ross."

Advanced praise for Gospel of Dust -- "Exploring the human condition with relentless intensity, Joseph Ross returns to the pages of literature with an expertly crafted second collection, Gospel of Dust. These poems are representative of what society’s’ failures produce, a threnody of sound for the oppressed and those underneath life and literature; they’re the shedding of skin color, of social constructions that bind us to a way of seeing. Listen to this choir box solo as Gospel of Dust fills you with the poetic spirit we call language."

Advanced praise for Gospel of Dust -- "Not too many people are residing on the same floor with Joe Ross when it comes to writing about race. His poetry is what we should place in the window of the World House that King spoke about in his last book.  The words of Ross demand a sacred place. His poems honor the dead and instruct the living. There is an amazing grace to be found in Gospel of Dust. This book is a rosary of pages for all believers."  

Praise for Meeting Bone Man -- "Joseph Ross gives us a collection of poems that traces words down the center of the back of death. Like a graffiti artist he tags our emotions. Ross takes us from the streets of DC to the land of Darfur. After every poem we are forced to ask – what is the deep truth? When Basquiat meets the Buddha only the Bone Man can tell the tale. Ross writes like a witness to a  new religion. Have faith in these poems; they are filled with the type of light the darkness would love to kiss."

Advanced praise for Gospel of Dust -- "In these poems, we peek into the empty human church at night, breath caught, eyes that usually burn, suddenly awash in tears. Gospel of Dust sets afire a memento mori for America -- remember you are dust, O Empire. But, as with all burnt offerings, in Joseph Ross' poems something is also rising. We are offered again the stark choice: ashes or bread? This is some of the best poetry you are likely to read anywhere."