Mark Smith-Soto’s poetry merges cultures and familial memory with an aesthetic clarity and wisdom that I admire greatly as a reader and envy as a writer. In Time Pieces, the poet takes us on a linguistic journey across time, place, and emotional landscapes that inform and excite in equal measure. Smith-Soto is at home with free verse and formal tactics alike, always matching form and content in galvanizing ways. He is also not afraid to explore the big themes of life and death, philosophy and religion—but always with a concrete grounding that makes complex concepts accessible. Do yourself a favor: read and reread this book. — Okla Elliott, author of The Cartographer’s Ink and From the Crooked Timber
