Breathing Room

“‘Moored in wonder’ (to transpose a phrase from Breathing Room), Belair’s poems make space for collecting and recollecting, sensing and seeking. Like exhibits in an airy but intimate museum, his images a barn broom shaped by use; a fruit vendor’s collapsed umbrella; sidewalk tables; park lamps; the “sparks of a welder / lit by his own work.” Room by (breathing) room, they offer up the heft of close attention, familiar and strange as memory itself.”
-Jody Bolz, Editor, Poet Lore
"Space, clarity, sanity, and light--these are, to me, the four most immediate qualities of Belair's poetry. This is not to say that he avoids his or our darkness, but his approach to its portrayal is unique to him... Through writing what he sees around him, Belair's poetry records and celebrates the act of living, and in these shared and common experiences, we may find ourselves drawn to his perspective, finding, in him, a dedicated autobiographer in possession of a sensitive and sympathetic eye."
-Tim McLafferty, Verse Wisconsin
“Poetry is a distillation and Mark Belair is a master distiller, with a subtle but brilliant sense of flavouring. In his voice, the ordinary becomes sublime as ‘gutter water braids the bright night sky’ and objects are transformed. He manages to brand moments, scenes onto the subconscious. The imperative that floats on the surface of his poetry is to remember to remember. With that in mind, the poem “The Boy on the Hill” is worth the price of admission to Belair’s quiet and extraordinary world.”
-Katrin Talbot, Poet, Freeze-Dried Love and other collections