In his second poetry collection, Infinite Altars, James Brasfield tracks restless interplays of light on a fallen feather outside an Italian chapel, the surface of the Gowanus Canal, and a forest footpath after an evening of rain. Atmospheric and reflective, these poems travel with equal ease through the world of fine arts and the places where we live, highlighting the vivid sights and sounds of each in turn.

At a sudden encounter with everyday beauty, serenity suffuses through the author: “Something of that calmness goes with us / back into the world.” Brasfield’s poems invite readers to embrace these unexpected and arresting experiences.