"A tour de force, The Pears Poem, from the sparse The Writing: through the castanets and dark caves of The Roma: the imaginative Elvis Resurrection: the surety of Dandelion Resurrection, and the quiet whispers of The Kiss, and so many more. A rarity among chapbooks: you won�t be able to put down The Pears Poems, until every last poem is read. I couldn�t.." -Susan Dale

"This new book shows someone who is not afraid to change, even after many books. Along with his normal Zen sparks, there�s a joyful surrealism here. Even the most black and white, photographic poems don�t take themselves too seriously and open us up.

Smith�s people spend a lot of time waiting. They wait for money, for night, or for the dark laughter of an epiphany to hit as a hard as �a busload of bibles.�� These poems exist right outside of town in a peddler�s encampment where fairy tales and bad luck mingle with white bread and pennies. These are magical riddles made up of the real and the nearly so. Feast on them and dance". Mike James