Barefoot is Kevin Hart's eighth collection of poems; it is rich in
elegies, meditations on lost love, and celebrations of new love. The
title speaks of mourning, pilgrimage, and the direct sensuous contact of
flesh with earth. Harold Bloom has long extolled Hart as a "visionary of
desire," and in this collection we find that vision deepened and that
desire extended. Never before has Hart stretched his range of
inspiration quite so far; while continuing to draw from Christianity, he
also responds to the rich heritage of American Blues, and reveals a wit
as sharp as a razor's edge. The poetry is at once religious poetry and
love poetry; indeed, the "religious poetry" is itself love poetry.
Always, Hart speaks to us in words that seem inevitable in their
simplicity. As he himself has written, "The best conductor of mystery is
clarity. The true bearer of complexity is simplicity." Barefoot will
delight poetry lovers everywhere.