“I don’t think I’ve ever read poems like these—clear as water, deep as dirt, funny and so filled with ache, utterly contemporary and also timeless. They speak of the heart’s yearning. They wrestle with god while they insist on the primacy of the actual—the truth of the body’s need and desire, the human body, the animals, the trees. How do they manage to be so simple and so complex? So audacious and so modest? So full of imagination and fierce with reality? I want to read these poems over and over. I want to give this book to everyone I love. ”

“Ridiculously good. . . . [Poetry Unbound] covers a wide range of topics, forms, and writing styles, making it a fantastic read for poetry-lovers and reluctant-poetry-readers alike. . . . Maybe the best part of the book is Ó Tuama’s unparalleled ability to understand, interpret, and write about poetry.”

“The Poetry Unbound podcast, and Pádraig’s way of finding language to describe the details and intricacies and the shades of grey of the human experience have made me a better person, a better songwriter, and a better artist. . . . I would urge everyone to dive into this deeply rewarding book.”

“The poems in Pádraig Ó Tuama’s Feed the Beast loom large with a kind of broad-stroke swagger only this poet can render through language that is as tender as it is animated... This book is unashamed about poetry’s relationship to the spirit…I would go as far as saying this book is one way we know poetry is prayer.
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