"Beautiful in every respect."—Tim Nolan, MN Artists "An instant favorite of mine."—Danny Heitman, Christian Science Monitor "Equal parts marvel and pang, Rival Gardens documents the grit, heart, and wisdom of an ecopoetic sage."—Plume Poetry "Wanek’s imagery is consistently outstanding."—Edward A. Dougherty, Rain Taxi "Readers who are already fans of Wanek will be overjoyed with Rival Gardens. For those who are new to ... Read moreWanek, this is the perfect collection for wading into the full scope of her amazing poetry."—Andrew Nye, Corresponder “Connie Wanek’s beautiful poems travel effortlessly among our various realms—the human, the natural, and the cosmic, inhabited by gods who may have some resemblance to ourselves. The light is wonderfully clear in these accounts, as is the darkness, each one illuminating the other.”—Charles Baxter, author of There’s Something I Want You to Do “Connie Wanek is one of the best poets of our time, and this new book, Rival Gardens, certainly demonstrates that. These selections . . . are works of wit and subtlety, of clarity, great generosity, and precise vision that make this book a treasure to read again and again.”—Louis Jenkins, author of Before You Know It and Tin Flag “In Wanek’s earth-proud, glorious work, all elements are in communication: a chimney offers ‘a plume of smoke hand-feeding the wind,’ a radish ‘bites you back,’ and a moose’s ‘grave eyes’ are ‘reminiscent somehow of Abe Lincoln.’ The first time I found her poems I phoned them to friends before making it past the library stairs. Rival Gardens offers a thrilling gift to anyone who loves metaphors, human beings, compassion, and the revelation of sly observation—I’m sending out a cosmic call: these lyric narratives bring you life through a consciousness you wish you had lived.”—Jessica Greenbaum, editor of upstreet and author of The Two Yvonnes Show Less