“One of our finest spiritual poets,” Michael Sowder, poet and essayist, writes about wilderness, fatherhood, Buddhism, and spirituality.   He is a professor of English and an adjunct professor of religious studies at Utah State University.

House Under the Moon

Sowder’s new collection of poetry.

“Through transcendent, lyric verse, these poems explore the spiritual struggle for harmony between the contemporary and contemplative life.”

Although these powerful poems are poems of the world, they are also poems of the spirit.  Michael Sowder is a rarity among the poets of his generation—indeed, among the poets of any generation. He is a seeker, a searcher after meaning, a yearner for consequence. He knows that the secret message of poetry is connection, and he knows that to turn inward and find the spirit is also to discover the spirit moving through the world. These graceful and stirring poems make those magical connections.  Sowder has matured into one of our finest spiritual poets. This is a book of deep and lasting beauty.  – David Bottoms

House Under the Moon is available from Truman State University Press,  Amazon.com, and barnesandnoble.com.

The Empty Boat

Chosen by Diane Wakoski for the T.S. Eliot Award

“Here is the poetry of earth Keats claimed is never dead; it thrives in Michael Sowder’s vivid imagination, where crows, stars, rivers, and lovers cohabit in dynamic and rapturous connections.”  –  Laurence Goldstein

“This earthy yet elegant poet is a true heir to all the exciting poetry of the 20th century. He takes the crow myth of Ted Hughes and the wish for Electra’s retribution in Plath, creating his own personal mythology out of American reclamation and spiritual revelation.”   Diane Wakoski

Also available at Truman State University Press, Amazon.com, and barnesandnoble.com.