Extravagant Rescues

How far from our imperfect human selves have we traveled? How shall we recover what is left, live within our man-made technologies built to be more powerful than us, and still keep a sense of humor? In the depths of an illness that would ultimately claim his life, the beloved poet and professor Brett Foster offered a parting gift, Extravagant Rescues, a sublime collection of poetry that lays bare the human and poetic brilliance of a man immersed in capturing human beings’ mortal splendor and frailty within their own technology and flaws.The poems ask questions with hymn-like couplets, in a language of the gospel of empathy. We are allowed to rethink our choices, question and be wary of our machinery, and, in the end, with metaphors that channel feelings of loss, humor, and compassion, we are reminded “to come, and dream, with eyes wide open / and set within the vessels of our waking selves, / of ever more intricate schemes, extravagant rescues.”