The Sigh and Flutter

Praise For THE SIGH AND FLUTTER Hopeful, specific, philosophical, wise-these poems are like the white dots in the night sky, glimpses of something big and bright and massive-something that brings not only light, but life. -Kevin Rabas, Poet Laureate of Kansas (2017-2019), Improvise Julie Ann Baker Brin's mystical curiosity pulled me in ... [she] shows us that the potency of life is enhanced, rather than diminished, by its fleetingness, its unpredictability. -Cheryl Unruh, Gravedigger's Daughter: Vignettes from a Small Kansas Town Julie Brin sees the world and gives it back with whimsy and wisdom. Her words reimagine the small intimacies and disconnects: the subtle self-deceptions that keep us from seeing our inevitable demise. -Gretchen Cassel Eick, author of eight books including Dissent in Wichita and Resistance Julie's use of language is magnificent and alarming as she brings all of us under the microscope. With her careful, specific, and intelligent use of words and literary structures, she has given us a powerful and very word-aware collection [to] savor. -Michael Poage, poet and founder of Blue Cedar Press Brin offers insights with a philosophical bent-sometimes as brief aphorisms, other times as vividly detailed portraits. -Janice Northerns, Some Electric Hum: poems These poems soar not in defiance of gravity but in full recognition of it, reminding us that the human spirit is as much about earthbound coffee as it is about stars. -April Pameticky, with concern for how words land in the body Sometimes her words are gentle, encouraging you to come to your own conclusions. Other times, they hit like a one-two punch, the poem ending before you even realize what's happened, leaving you in stunned silence as your mind catches up. -Jill D. Miller, Never Finished: Practical advice for Modern Women to inspire your fierce, authentic self