Grain by Doug Bentley is an erudite, insightful, and provocative poetic journey through the mystical regions of the human psyche. From first word to last, this thought-provoking volume of sonnets and free verse begs to be pondered - to be mulled over and savored like a fine wine. Shakespearean and scientific references inform each of the meticulously crafted sonnets and free verse poems in Grain. Eternal questions are asked but seldom answered - in classic Socratic style, each question leads to another question. From ‘Gravity 1’: “one lifetime is a thousand too short/to learn the answers to every question/but instinct has a notion.”

Similarly, each poem flows seamlessly into the next, the end result being a kind of poetic massage for the reader’s brain awash in mundane cares. Grain offers the thinking reader a metaphysical vacation - an escape from the ordinary. The pause is both refreshing and enlightening. Each of the ten sonnets strung like pearls in the opening section of Grain combines timeless form with a contemporary delivery that could easily seem anachronistic in the hands of a lesser poet. Doug Bentley’s expert craftsmanship blends old and new with a natural fluidity few can achieve. From ‘Sonnet 24’: "tragedy struck last night on the tv screen/there's no turning away from this conclusion/wings of the age bring war/a phoenix scream/chills blood. our children inherit confusion."

It seems they will also inherit a wealth of nimble, eloquent sonnets and free verse poems from a masterful contemporary poet named Doug Bentley. This book has much to teach and a timeless cadence that imbues its wisdom with wonder. To quote William Shakespeare, of whom the author is so nobly fond: “The object of Art is to give life a shape (A Midsummer Night’s Dream). Doug Bentley’s Grain is an enduring and welcome addition to the literature that will shape worlds to come.