The Paintings Of Our Lives: Poems

Grace Schulman's fourth collection of poetry, THE PAINTINGS OF OUR LIVES, celebrates earthly things while discovering inner lives. Here are poems of love and marriage -- including a psalm for the poet's anniversary and a portrayal of her parents dancing during the Depression -- and poems identifying with the hungers, sorrows, and joys of Chaim Soutine, Margaret Fuller, Paul Celan, and Henry James. In the final sonnet sequence, Schulman confronts her mother's death, calling on the art of many cultures to illuminate the universality of grief.

This collection finds meaning where art and memory intersect.

• Poems About Art and Artists: Explore the inner lives of figures like Chaim Soutine and Henry James, finding resonance in their sorrows and joys.
• Love and Enduring Marriage: From an anniversary psalm to a vivid portrait of parents dancing through the Depression, these poems celebrate lasting connection.
• A Sonnet Sequence on a Mother’s Death: The stunning final section confronts profound loss, using art from many cultures to navigate the universal landscape of grief.
• Reflective and Lyrical Voice: A masterful collection from a celebrated contemporary poet, perfect for readers who appreciate deeply felt, intelligent, and imagistic verse.

“These elegiac lyrics are reveries upon art, street scenes, and the beloved dead. Many of them are so exquisite in their sensibility, so intricate in their texture, that they are likely to endure as long as we have discerning readers.” -- Harold Bloom

"Delicacy of mind and ear, and gentleness of spirit, emerge together with quiet assurance in these new poems by Grace Schulman and give them their elegance, authenticity, and spirit. These are poems whose deeply informed humanity allows us to use that word with hope." -- W.S. Merwin