Invisible Tender

By Jennifer Clarvoe
Selected by J. D. McClatchy

The poems collected in Invisible Tender chart the terrains of childhood recollection and adult loss, of meditation and celebration. Intensely lyrical, both employing and altering traditional poetic meters and forms, Clarvoe's poems are rich in philosophical reflection in subjects ranging from art and, popular culture to the elusive languages of the natural world.

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...Her work often reads as though it's fueled by an essential force that's barely kept in check. It's this passion more than anything else that binds the poems here. — The New York Times Book Review

“The textures of Invisible Tender—the edgy shimmer of quartz, the cool vulnerability of silk—are exhilarating. Clarvoe’s canny perspectives, glistening details, and unnerving surprises are a constant delight. Her book places her at once in the starry company of poets like Elizabeth Bishop and May Swenson. I am moved and thrilled to know, here is the real thing, a poet.” — J.D. McClatchy