Listening for Grace Notes

From the stone walls, beaches, and dark winters of New England, to the woods of Western North Carolina, to the Zambezi River, these sensitive poems carry Woods' readers through seasons laced with love, death, family, and birds. -Lola Haskins, author, Homelight

Whether she is eye to eye with an elephant, or waiting hours to hear a bird sing, or realizing that the most enduring human bonds are "nothing to a mountain," Alida Woods' poems show us that our place in the natural world is small and brief. But a reverence for nature and an acceptance of our limits can make us "big enough to be small." Deeply grounded in her love of nature and humanity, especially family, Woods not only listens for grace notes, she also hears, sees, tastes, smells, and feels them. And through these vivid, affirming poems, so do we.

-Eric Nelson, author, Horse Not Zebra

Alida Woods' Listening for Grace Notes is a lyrical collection of poems that invites readers to listen deeply and see the world with fresh eyes. Rooted in the landscapes of New England, Western North Carolina, and the Zambezi River, the poems move through time and seasons, capturing moments of love, loss, family, and wonder. With evocative imagery of stone walls, beaches, and dark winters, Woods explores the delicate balance of being present in a fragile world. Birds, ever-present, serve as messengers, reminding us to pause and listen. Grace Notes is a quiet yet powerful meditation on nature, memory, and connection.

-Karen Bell, former Dean of the Arts, Ohio State University