Run Away Words is a glowing debut, a suggestive leap into the plight of mainstream America, with all of its lost and pleading souls yearning for something not yet understood. Barnes gives a private, soulful portrayal of a man's life in fast-paced surrender; he moves succinctly from despair and uncertainty to true hunger and devotion for "other," all of which culminates beautifully in his return to praise for both God and the creative Word. It's the paradox of an agonizing, yet dutiful, surrender that infuses this quick turn of the page with something just a little bit more. Barnes' first foray into poetry is a welcome one...." (Kasey Bogert)