Aurora in the eye by Cynthia Hendel

“Cynthia Hendel’s debut collection is a delight that expands beyond the normative. Each poem’s structure is integrated into its meaning (or meanings) as if the words rose from it organically. Wings and light are in conversation with a midnight longing. A carefully placed pause makes the dove’s repeated song nearly audible. Ranging from single-line poems to inventive concrete works in a variety of shapes, these poems evoke a world that invites the reader to linger, contemplate, and read again.”

— Kat Lehmann, Author of no matter how it ends a bluebird’s song

About the Author:

Cynthia Hendel’s poems have appeared in Haiku 2025: 100 notable ku of 2024, Sonic Boom, and whiptail: journal of the single line poem. Several received Touchstone nominations (one long-listed), and one a Pushcart nomination. She is fascinated by Japanese short-forms and the language of images. She especially likes to explore how shape and movement can participate in meaning.