Strange You Never Knew, as the title implies, develops the thematic motif of knowing, the desire to know the mystery of love—touching earth and pushing off, flesh and spirit, life of the senses complementing the spiritual, the dream life of the imagination, desire for the word that speaks light from darkness, the ethereal within the mundane.

This knowing is contained by our daily living, the sensuous world with which we interact, mostly unaware of its spiritual dimension.  The book’s four-section poem sequence is one of immersion into the paradoxical life, the life we come to know and spend a lifetime comprehending its inexplicable beauty.  The poems examine our lives of displacement from family, love, ourselves. Displacement, however, does not necessarily mean despair.  Our mundane lives we may discover transpire in an austere and holy place peopled with angels unaware.  Faith can exist in a place of stone.  Absolution is available daily.  Redemption is found in strange places we never knew.

About Steven Neves

Steve Neves is Associate Professor of Art at Hardin-Simmons University, where he teaches sculpture, drawing, printmaking, and design. His art has been featured in numerous galleries and outdoor sculpture exhibits across the state. He has been at Hardin-Simmons since 2004. His B.F.A. (2000) is from Stephen F. Austin State University and his M.F.A. (2004) is from the University of Houston. Steve was born in Belton, Texas. He is married to Dona. They have two children, Zoe and Wyatt. Steve’s painting “Strange You Never Knew” provides both the title of the book and the cover art. The title of Steve’s painting comes from a refrain in the song “Fade Into You,” lyrics by Hope Sandoval with music composed by David Roback (EMI Music Publishing) and sung by Hope Sandoval performing with David Roback as the American alternative rock band Mazzy Star, formed in Santa Monica, California, 1989.