The strongest witness poetry can make is to the personal life-and when that personal life is extraordinary, then extraordinary poems can come forth. Such is the life of Brian Thornton, who as a young man lost most of his sight, who has performed in a carnival sideshow, and who has lived and traveled in the mideast during the joy and violence of the Arab Spring. And 'Places We Were Never Meant To See' traces these movements of a life, in carefully crafted language and rhythms that befit such a life and those who have touched it. Reaching into our oldest themes and deepest fears, these poems discover the vision found in darkness, inviting us to "let the evening bring the chance for you to see."
