The Stars Above Us (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9798901468616)

The Stars Above Us is a collection of deeply intimate work where themes thread themselves throughout in surprising and unexpected ways. These poems feel lived-in and honest - moving seamlessly between moments of specificity (like in "The Undoing of Maggie B" and "My Father's Son") to more ethereal leaps in language (like in "No Filet Mignon for Me," "I Left God," and "Just the Bare Bones"). Even the titles seem to signal toward something more expansive, moving between faith and pain, hope and hopelessness, and the questions of identity that plague us all in different yet strangely similar ways. In these connections lies the power of this collection: its ability to grasp what often feels unsayable. Here, Fee names it.

-Tabitha Parker, English Professor, Clark State College

These poems weave grief and joy in ways that catch us off guard. One moment we confront disaster, illness, or fractured families; the next, a grandmother's buttons, a stranger's small kindness, or snow settling quietly reminds us of life's subtle beauties. They carry us from hospitals to forests, from cramped kitchens to winding roads, revealing both the ways life can break us and the ways it holds us together. By the end, we are left with the sense that life, often messy and stubborn, keeps moving forward, and somehow, so do we.

-Dr. Tatiana Gorbunova, Associate Professor, English, Clark State College

The Stars Above Us is the latest collection of poems by outstanding and prolific poet Arvilla Fee. Fee's book exhibits her great talent through her use of vivid imagery and superb metaphors and similes. Perhaps the best thing about Fee's poetry is the range of topics she covers - topics to which all human beings can relate. The Stars Above Us focuses on issues such as childrearing, death, coping with death, growing older, grief, and relationships that shape our lives.

-Dr. Eric Sterling, Professor of English, Auburn University at Montgomery

Fee's poetry captures snapshots of real life with a precision lens. Her use of sensory details and word choice evoke emotions and develop a clear image. Whether she's transporting you to a specific time and place, navigating seasons of life or difficult circumstances, her perspective has dimensions that pull you in deeper with each read.

-Teri Garringer