Prayers Like Shoes

Whit Press, in partnership with Hedgebrook, is proud to present this magnificent new collection of poetry from highly acclaimed writer and poet Ruth Forman.

“Ruth Forman’s wisdom, humor and grace brighten every page of Prayers Like Shoes. Here are the cadences of a woman’s true speech rising into a poetry of deep love and warning, loss and survival, building toward a scriptural lyric that leads the reader through the darkness of our times and into an opening of necessary recognition and gratitude. I heard her beautiful voice on every page.”

— Carolyn Forché

“Ruth Forman’s Prayers Like Shoes is a book you will carry with you for life, give to people you love, and turn to in times of joy and sadness. Her words are as natural as grass and air, and the stories they tell will travel from the page to your heart.”

— Gloria Steinem

“In Prayers Like Shoes the brilliant Ruth Forman has topped herself. This is what Forman does best: brings us to the heart of all that matters and introduces us to ourselves.”

— Junot Diaz

“Here is the new era proclaimed in strong, clear, African-American voice. Each poem offers a daily redemption and recovery zone. This young magician has entered into her full powers of womanhood. Her new body of work is vivid, immediate, available, consoling, and tender. It is arriving on schedule for the new America.”

— Peter Sellars