Praise

Sandra Beasley, author of Count the Waves, says, "'Tell me the Lord's no better a creator / than we are,' challenges the stunning opener, 'Hurricane Season.' 'I've taken things too & / moved them to what I thought were better places.' Goodness Gracious follows life in a small Louisiana town through a series of evocative vignettes: fishing trout out of Bayou DuLarge, disposing of canefield rats flattened by a tractor, or an unkindness of ravens keeping watch over an above-ground pool. Nicholas Molbert has a knack for noting period brands—Natty Light, Eggos, Sketchers, Swiffer—quirky particulars that offset the eternal grief attached to losing a family patriarch. As climate change and American industry apply ever more pressure to rural communities, these poems wear dirt under their fingernails and blood on their sleeves; they are vital, beautifully shaped, and timely."

Janice N. Harrington, author of Primitive: The Art and Life of Horace H. Pippin, says, "Goodness gracious indeed! Molbert vividly reimagines the southern Louisiana of his youth and turns a keen, questioning eye toward manhood, faith, family, and love. These lyrical, emotionally resonant poems draw readers into evocative memories and storytelling. Not afraid of hope, humor, or the whims that make us human, this debut collection shines like sunlight on the waters of the Gulf."