Lost on Purpose by Karen Head

Lost on Purpose by Karen Head

Lost on Purpose is a universe of portals, a collection that offers the rare invitation to be both observer and intimate, taking in the reverie of landscape and lover, travel and art. Eschewing the stark, Head's poems accomplish the remarkable: though they may seem effortless in their ease, they are distilled, compelling, and evocative, demonstrating a mastery that deepens their interiors with each reading. Refined in its sensibility, Lost on Purpose speaks to both images of solitude--and the honoring of the serene and contemplative--and the reverence of connection. Not without signature moments of Head's knife-edged wit and observation, these poems move us through a tandem sense of joy and rebelliousness, urging us to step into new ways of being, to challenge our perceptions, as subtle as the line between look and leap / between what we know and what we believe. In Paris, in England, in the cosmos and in the garden, through the ekphrastic and the camera lens, Head's poems open irresistible doors--reminding each of us to echo the affirmation, where I'm from / will not dictate where I am going.