Judith Rosner's Paradigm Shift is a profoundly rich poetry collection that travels great distances in time and space. We are left centered with poems of compassion and beauty, often found in the wondrous details. She sings to the next generation, grandchildren, and to parents and places that are no longer, immortalizing them in these poems with grace and humor. I started making a list of my favorite poems-it got very long. Here's one, "Gilvan's Department Store, Warwick, NY" where "her staircase and curved banister / proudly transported you up and down her spine." I love that Paradigm Shift celebrates aging too, not shying away from its infirmities, as in the title poem, "Grateful for the view / through this new lens." Don't miss the view!
-Sarah Stern, author of We Have Been Lucky in the Midst of Misfortune, But Today Is Different, and Another Word for Love
The poems in this wonderful volume shine both individually and as a group. They are direct, honest, and full of a life well lived and beautifully conveyed. Ms. Rosner has the gift of what I would call poetic summation. The relationship of her parents is complicated, "a duet of opposites." Her initial feeling on meeting her future husband: "He owned the space around him." These are just two examples. Rosner is also a fine story teller, her vignettes of life in New York reviving my own memories of the City's pain and beauty. This slender volume will take little time to read, much time to fully absorb.
-Walter Frank, author of Making Sense of the Constitution, Law and the Gay Rights Movement, and Do We Have a Center?: 2016, 2020 and the Challenge of the Trump Presidency
Judith Rosner's debut poetry collection, Paradigm Shift, is a powerful reflection on love, life, self-awareness, and the human spirit that spans the generations. Rosner encourages readers to reflect on their own lives, to mend inner wounds, and to celebrate the goodness we tend to forget. Her memories are crisp and vivid. Her poems describe everyday experiences, despairs, and hopes, giving expression to emotions we all feel in creative, insightful, and sometimes humorous ways. Both avid poetry readers and novices will find the poems accessible, relevant, and entertaining. It is a collection I will return to often and is a book well worth reading and owning.
-Allen Smuckler, author of five poetry collections, including The Mystery of Time: Conversations Over Wine
