In Measures, B. L. Bruce’s third collection of poetry, the author deftly explores the visual measures of time and the nature of change in her celebrated, nuanced verse.In this latest collection featuring nearly sixty new poems—including works in new formats like micropoetry and American haiku—award-winning poet B. L. Bruce again echoes the lyricism and rich imagery that readers have come to praise.
the weight of snow
NEW RELEASE: Measures by B. L. Bruce (Poetry)
In February of 2014, B. L. Bruce’s debut collection of poetry, The Weight of Snow, was published. Now, seven years later, her latest collection, Measures, is here.
In Measures, B. L. Bruce’s third collection of poetry, the author deftly explores grief, loss, the visual measures of time, and the nature of change in her celebrated, nuanced verse.
In this latest collection featuring nearly sixty new poems—including works in new formats like micropoetry and American haiku—award-winning poet B. L. Bruce again echoes the lyricism and rich imagery that readers have come to praise.
“As its poems tread through forests, over mountains, and along the water . . . Measures captivates.” — Clarion Reviews
“[B. L. Bruce’s] newest poetry collection, Measures, by turns elicits tenderness and melancholy, hopefulness and heartbreak—which is to say, the gamut of the human condition. . . . Bruce’s collection offers many accomplished and memorable moments.” — BlueInk Review
“Lyrical and reflective, award-winning Bruce’s latest, a collection of poems, micropoetry, and American haiku, offers a litany of ruminations on nature, love, and self. . . . Readers seeking meditations on nature, life, love, and spiritual renewal won’t be able to put [down] this perceptive, deeply engrossing read. This is a winner.” — The Prairies Book Review
"Lyrical poems on the beauty of the natural world contrasted against the fragile, sometimes broken nature of the human experience." — Andrea Janda, Visitant
“Lyrical poems on the beauty of the natural world contrasted against the fragile, sometimes broken nature of the human experience.” — Cheriese Francoise Anderson, Author of Wild Chai
Award-winning author and Pushcart Prize nominee, California poet Bri Bruce (writing as B. L. Bruce) has been called the “heiress of Mary Oliver.” With a bachelor’s degree in literature and creative writing from the University of California at Santa Cruz, her work has appeared in dozens of anthologies, magazines, and literary publications, including The Wayfarer Journal, Canary, The Remnant Archive, Northwind Magazine, The Soundings Review, The Monterey Poetry Review, and the American Haiku Society’s Frogpond Journal, among many others. Bruce is the recipient of the Ina Coolbrith Memorial Poetry Prize and the PushPen Press Pendant Prize for Poetry, as well as the author of four books: The Weight of Snow, 28 Days of Solitude, The Starling’s Song, and Measures. Her highly praised debut collection, The Weight of Snow, was the 2014 International Book Awards poetry category finalist and the 2014 USA Best Book Awards poetry category finalist. The Starling’s Song was released in February of 2016, and was selected as Honorable Mention in the Pacific Rim Book Festival. In addition to her writing pursuits, Bruce is the Editor-in-Chief of the nature-centric literary magazine Humana Obscura , and is a painter and photographer, with work that has been featured in The Sun Magazine, Near Window, and others. Follow her on Twitter @the_poesis and on Instagram @thepoesis.
CAPTURING CALIFORNIA’S COAST: SANTA CRUZ POET LAUNCHES DEBUT POETRY COLLECTION
“Alive with style and filled with beautiful, nostalgic imagery. Bruce’s free verse poetry is rich with detail, and her evocative language will stay with you long after reading this collection. Deeply introspective and profoundly insightful, each poems displays great thematic range and literary sensibility.” - J. Rodriguez, Film Producer and Artist
“Haunting and provocative wile simple and natural. [The author’s] amazing gift of poetic writing and presentation cannot be missed.” - Linda Harper, Author
SANTA CRUZ, CALIFORNIA, January 27th — Local author and freelance editor Bri Bruce of Santa Cruz will release her debut collection of poems The Weight of Snow: New & Selected Poems on February 1, 2014 as the first work of Black Swift Press’s California Writers assemblage. She is planning a book launch party this spring that will include other local authors, artists, and creative minds.
Bruce, a freelance editor, graphic designer, photographer, and graduate of UC Santa Cruz’s literature department, has been working toward publishing her first collection of poetry for five years. Her work has appeared in dozens of magazines and literary publications, including Santa Cruz’s phren-Z and The Monterey Poetry Review. Last winter she was bestowed with the opportunity to read her work at the Museum of Art History in downtown Santa Cruz and was chosen for the Centrum Foundation’s writer’s residency. In addition, she is the owner of Bri Bruce Productions, a writing, editing, and graphic design company based out of the Santa Cruz Mountains.
San Francisco author and publisher Kermit Heartsong calls Bruce’s work, “Evocative, powerful, and transporting,” and the collection as a whole is “a poignant and beautiful story of a life, experiences, memories, and pain. Ms. Bruce is truly a gifted poet.”
Written in the vein of Mary Oliver, May Sarton, and the late Santa Cruz poet Maude Meehan, Bruce’s poems are inspired by California’s breathtaking Pacific coast and inland coastal regions. In her collection, she explores the many plights of the human species, from the mysteries of the heart and the inescapability of death, to the depths of human emotion. Told from the perspective of a poetic naturalist, Bruce shares her appreciation of the wild, illuminating the profound in the mundane while chronicling the natural world as both an observer and an irrefutable part of it. Her poems focus strongly on image and locality, conjuring the imaginations of readers and celebrating the beauty in the follies of the human condition.
Bruce is available for interviews and appearances. For booking presentations, media appearances, interviews, and/or book-signings contact bribruceproductions@gmail.com