Timber and Prayer

Weaver's life studies and lyrics are imbued with a vivid sense of language, a vivid sense of the world, a vivid sense of their inseparability. And his tonal range—from unabashed passion to the subtlest velleity—is impressive indeed. This is a singular talent.

* Henry Louis Gates, Jr. *

The poems are challenging in that they are neither superficial nor immediately evident. . . .his authentic black voice invests every line with added meaning.

* VQR *

[Weaver] explores and rethinks questions of identity—that greate American subject. Over the years, Michael Weaver has listened to a chorus of other voices, the inflections of the past, as they have come together to shape and enlarge his own distincitive, musical voice. . .He has carved a unique space for himself in contemporary American poetry.

* Edward Hir