"Like 'two bodies lean into each other, ' the poems of Rough Grace-some drawn from life, some responding to paintings-support and extend one another in a poetic yin-yang that explores the relationships between art and life. Raphael Helena Kosek gives us a beautiful collection to 'clear the unholy noise' of distraction, balancing poetic skill and human tenderness in lines of tensile energy and gentle repose." -Nancy Pagh, award judge, author of No Sweeter Fat and After