Steven Sher
What Comes from the Heart: Poems in the Jewish Tradition
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(2020) Cyberwit
What Comes from the Heart: Poems in the Jewish Tradition, published March 2020 by Cyberwit in India, is a collection of new and selected poems about Jewish tradition and ritual drawn from his life's practices, experiences, and learning.
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"A collection of poems like this serves a dual purpose: it enriches poetry by giving it roots in the soil of a precious cultural heritage while at the same time an ancient culture is ameliorated through humane poeticizing. The celebratory mode and the bardic stance employed by Steven Sher become the two arms of a poetic forceps delivering the zeitgeist enshrined in and emitted by the Promised Land. These are poems not like a mirror with a silvered back, but like a prismatic lens--kaleidoscopic for readers to peep through and have a glimpse of one of the richest and most ancient living cultures on the globe."
Anuraag Sharma, Poet & Critic, Editor: Prosopisia
ISBN 978-93-88125-90-1
Order through Cyberwit here.
Contestable Truths, Incontestable Lies
(2019) Dos Madres Press
Jerusalem: city of white stone and winding alleys, the shining heights of the Judean Hills, a labyrinth of antiquity and hi-tech. This "city of sirens"—both ambulance and police any hour of the night or day—is the melting pot of Jews (and millions of visitors) from every corner of the Diaspora.
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Brooklyn-born Steven Sher was already in his 60s when his flight from the States touched down in 2012. Contestable Truths, Incontestable Lies chronicles his new immigrant reality, celebrates the city’s vibrant life and its inhabitants’ unwavering faith amid daily threats and tragic attacks.
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Navigating spiritual as well as sociopolitical landscapes, Sher embraces the truths that are categorically denied, decries the lies that shape the hatred toward his people. With these poems, he gathers sparks of light, images that define this holy city. He reports on the effects of war and unrelenting terror, but these are balanced by unexpected miracles and revelations. The poems bear witness to the mood on the Israeli street, the facts on the ground.
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Though the current rage of “Pallywood” revisionism, “fake news” and political correctness may manipulate young minds, co-opt the narrative and spread extremism throughout the West, the world Sher would have us meet aspires to rest solely on the Truth. As one of Jerusalem’s religious residents, Sher has cast his lot with those who are passionate about the Bible and their love of the land.
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Contestable Truths, Incontestable Lies reminds us of the challenges that they face amidst the sometimes brutal conditions and a profound religious standoff.
ISBN 978-1-948017-55-8
Order through Dos Madres here or through Small Press Distribution here.
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Uncharted Waters
(2017) newferalpress
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In this special collection, focusing on caregiving, aging and illness, the deeper meanings of healing are explored.
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With a limited press run of 100 copies, the book can be ordered from the publisher here.
The House of Washing Hands
(2014) Pecan Grove Press
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Set in the Pacific Northwest, where he lived for 20 years, the poems are explorations of Jewish ritual and faith, family and community, finding the holy in the mundane.
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Pecan Grove Press, publisher of fine poetry titles since 1988, operates out of St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas. The press is currently on hiatus and unable to fulfill any book orders at this time. For now, copies will be available only from the author here.
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ISBN-978-1-937302-11-5
Grazing On Stars
​(2012) Presa Press
This collection offers a varied sampling from Sher's first 30 years of writing poetry. The poems appear in three sections, each one covering roughly a 10-year period beginning in 1975.
ISBN 978-0-9831251-7-4
Order through Presa Press or contact the author for information.
The Skipping Stone
(2011) Finishing Line Press
A deeply-felt spiritual exploration of the natural world.
ISBN 978-1599247144
Order through Finishing Line Press or through the author here.
Where the Shouting Began
(2009) Montemayor Press
Sher's original fantastic folktales bring Slawotich (his grandmother's shtetl) back to life.
ISBN 978-1-932727-08-6
Order through Montemayor Press here
or through Amazon here.
Click here to see more of artist Shoshannah Brombacher's artwork.
At the Willamette
(2003) SOLO Press
Reflecting on 20 years in Oregon, Sher captures the awe beside the ordinary of the Northwest landscape.
ISBN 0-941490-408
Thirty-Six
(2002) Creative Arts Book Company
A son (Sher) mourns for his father and finds healing
amid family and ritual, love and remembrance.
ISBN 0-88739-419-1
Order through the author here
or through Amazon here.
Flying through Glass
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(2001) Red Hill OUTLOUDBOOKS
Sher's elegy to a murdered boyhood friend, a nostalgic recollection of their teen summers in the Catskill Mountains.
ISBN 1-879969-10-6
Order through the author here
or through Amazon here.
Traveler's Advisory
(1994) Trout Creek Press
Finalist -- Oregon Book Award Stafford/Hall Award for Poetry
A constant traveler across America, Sher recounts numerous stops along the way.
ISBN 0-916155-24-2
Visit cover artist Erica Hart's website here.
Man with a Thousand Eyes
(1989) Gull Books
Sher's haunting short stories reflect the tensions of 20th C. Jewish life and the absence prevailing in the larger American culture.
ISBN 0-940584-17-4
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Available through Amazon here.
Northwest Variety
(1987) Arrowood Books
Sher co-edited this collection of essays (with Lex Runciman) by 14 regional authors who explore how the Northwest imprints their writing and their lives.
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ISBN 0-934847-04-5
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Available through Amazon here.
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Trolley Lives
(1985) Wampeter Press
Sher's portrait of Brooklyn's Jewish life (and his East European roots) in the decades following WW II.
ISBN 0-931694-28-0
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Available through Amazon here.
Caught in the Revolving Door
(1980) Love Street Books
Drawn to odd characters, Sher unmasks the people
he has met in life's revolving door.
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Out of Print; Signed copy available from Amazon here.
Persnickety
(1979) Seven Woods Press
A young poet (Sher) looks for deeper meaning in words and their definitions.
ISBN 0-913282-19-7
Nickelodeon
(1978) Seagull Publications
Sher's first book is part philosophy, part dream -- a mind trip that transforms daily living into a rich tapestry.