Ode to El Camino de Santiago and Other Poems of Journey

“James Green’s carefully crafted, deeply felt poems are like reverse ekphrastic works. . . . Here are lines gathered from a world well traveled, of varied souls met in hazy afternoons or by moonlight. Each is a gift of tears, laughter, or miracle. These poems know the shape and dust of the path toward home.”


—Jenny Kalahar, Editor, Last Stanza Poetry Journal





“James Green is indeed a pilgrim, a poet who consistently seeks ‘to be in a place where strange is familiar’ and . . . to discern the spirit in the varied textures of everyday life, in the mysterious beauty of nature, and in the warm shadows of memory. There are a number of pilgrimages to be savored here, but the end point of each is a profoundly human beauty.”


—Jeffrey Essmann, Editor, The Catholic Poetry Room





“Green’s collection reminds us that travel introduces us not only to new landscapes and peoples but also to undiscovered parts of ourselves. Ode to El Camino de Santiago and Other Poems of Journey is a gracious lesson in human nature. What a beautiful stay against ethnocentrism, delivered in exquisite free verse and artfully nuanced forms.”


—Mary M. Brown, Poetry Editor, Flying Island





“James Green shares with us insights gleaned not only from El Camino de Santiago but from his other destinations on this planet. His opening poem urges us to find ‘those sacred spaces where clarity comes not from tortured thoughts but alights as a winged peace in the quiet of night.’ . . . He points to ‘how one will find teachings for human life wherever he goes.’ That he does.”


—Barry Harris, Editor, Tipton Poetry Journal