My name is John Adolphus Hodge, a friend of God, born in the pictorial, beautiful and musical- uncommon-guitar-shaped Island of St. Kitts/ St. Christopher, which is known to the world as The Land of Beauty and Sweet Sugar City of the Caribbean. Few years ago I migrated to the United Kingdom where I am still living. I am the third child of eight children, born to two blessed loving parents Mrs. Dolly Agatha Henrietta Hodge and Mr. Wilfred Adolphus Hodge, who were both born in the beautiful Island of St. Kitts/ St. Christopher, Leeward Island, West Indies. I am blessed, being the first male born to my mother according to Gods holy written word, which can be found in the Gospel of St. Luke: ch; 2 v 23. As it is written in the law of the LORD, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the LORD

A collection of out-of-print and previously unpublished work from a lesser known yet highly influential American poet.

This wide-ranging collection of inspirational poetry and prose offers readers solace, perspective, and the courage to persevere. In times of personal hardship or collective anxiety, words have the power to provide comfort, meaning, and hope. The past year has seen a resurgence of poetry and inspiring quotes—posted on social media, appearing on bestseller lists, shared from friend to friend. Honoring this communal spirit, How Lovely the Ruins is a timeless collection of both classic and contemporary poetry and short prose that can be of help in difficult times—selections that offer wisdom and purpose, and that allow us to step out of our current moment to gain a new perspective on the world around us as well as the world within. The poets and writers featured in this book represent the diversity of our country as well as voices beyond our borders, including Maya Angelou, W. H. Auden, Danez Smith, Rumi, Emily Dickinson, Naomi Shihab Nye, Alice Walker, Adam Zagajewski, Langston Hughes, Wendell Berry, Anna Akhmatova, Yehuda Amichai, and Robert Frost. And the book opens with a stunning foreword by Elizabeth Alexander, whose poem “Praise Song for the Day,” delivered at the inauguration of President Barack Obama, ushered in an era of optimism. In works celebrating our capacity for compassion, our patriotism, our right to protest, and our ability to persevere, How Lovely the Ruins is a beacon that illuminates our shared humanity, allowing us connection in a fractured world. Includes poetry, prose, and quotations from: Elizabeth Alexander • Marcus Aurelius • Karen Armstrong • Matthew Arnold • Ellen Bass • Brian Bilston • Gwendolyn Brooks • Elizabeth Barrett Browning • Octavia E. Butler • Regie Cabico • Dinos Christianopoulos • Lucille Clifton • Ta-Nehisi Coates • Leonard Cohen • Wendy Cope • E. E. Cummings • Charles Dickens • Mark Doty • Thomas Edison • Albert Einstein • Ralph Ellison • Kenneth Fearing • Annie Finch • Rebecca Foust • Nikki Giovanni • Stephanie Gray • John Green • Hazel Hall • Thich Nhat Hanh • Joy Harjo • Václav Havel • Terrance Hayes • William Ernest Henley • Juan Felipe Herrera • Jane Hirshfield • John Holmes • A. E. Housman • Bohumil Hrabal • Robinson Jeffers • Georgia Douglas Johnson • James Weldon Johnson • Paul Kalanithi • Robert F. Kennedy • Omar Khayyam • Emma Lazarus • Li-Young Lee • Denise Levertov • Ada Limón • Henry Wadsworth Longfellow • Nelson Mandela • Masahide • Khaled Mattawa • Jamaal May • Claude McKay • Edna St. Vincent Millay • Pablo Neruda • Anaïs Nin • Olga Orozco • Ovid • Pier Paolo Pasolini • Edgar Allan Poe • Claudia Rankine • Adrienne Rich • Rainer Maria Rilke • Alberto Ríos • Edwin Arlington Robinson • Eleanor Roosevelt • Christina Rossetti • Muriel Rukeyser • Sadhguru • Carl Sandburg • Vikram Seth • Charles Simic • Safiya Sinclair • Effie Waller Smith • Maggie Smith • Tracy K. Smith • Leonora Speyer • Gloria Steinem • Clark Strand • Wisława Szymborska • Rabindranath Tagore • Sara Teasdale • Alfred, Lord Tennyson • Vincent van Gogh • Ocean Vuong • Florence Brooks Whitehouse • Walt Whitman • Ella Wheeler Wilcox • William Carlos Williams • Virginia Woolf • W. B. Yeats • Saadi Youssef • Javier Zamora • Howard Zinn

Winner of the 2004 Verse Prize, this second collection confirms Nutter's reputation for strange, beautiful, original work.

Waves of Inspiration features dozens of poems that will inspire and motivate you, give you hope for a better tomorrow, and even add a little romance into the mix. Although the poems cover a variety of themes and topics, both from personal experiences and observations, the message from the author in each of them is sincere, and he clearly speaks from the heart. Through his poetry the author describes the role that self-confidence, attitude, emotion, and frame of mind can play in our lives, as well as how to overcome obstacles that many of us face. We live in challenging times, and as we look for solutions to life's problems, Waves of Inspiration may contain some of the answers you seek. The author is confident that you'll be able to relate to the poems in a personal way that will lift your spirits to new heights. You will find something that speaks directly to you, your situation, or to that of someone you know.