The natural splendor of the Alaskan wilderness; a grandfather’s delight in his granddaughter; the beauty of a loved one’s imperfections; the grief of an untimely loss…these are just a few of the topics addressed by author and minister James Drury in his new collection of poetry, Do Not Dismiss What Is.

Where Drury’s first collection, A Sharpness of Grief, addressed the aftermath of his divorce, Do Not Dismiss What Is explores a different phase of his life. A Lutheran minister serving the town of Sitka, Alaska, Drury devotes these fifty-four poems to the blessings of his personal relationships—with his new wife, his two grandchildren, his parishioners, and his friends—as well as to his observations of the world around him and his faith in God.

Rather than preaching about right and wrong, Drury’s verses celebrate the divinity and beauty inherent in the experiences of daily life. His insight will strike a familiar chord in many readers: whether he’s pondering the intimacy of marriage or worrying over his life choices—“Who does not (in the quietest times)/reflect on losing one’s self/in the ambiguities/in which we build daily life/torn between joy and sorrow”—Drury’s reflections evoke the sensation of shared experience.