Sleepwalking Again - John Raffetto

John Raffetto's poetry collection Sleepwalking Again explores history, place, and the passage of time with Raffetto's characteristic blend of wit and insight. Whether plumbing the Vegas dreams of night shamans, appealing to that elusive trickster, sleep, or holding court with the likes of Edith Piaf, these poems take us around the world and back again to Chicago, Raffetto's hometown. Never sentimental, they leaven poignancy with humor. They lay bare the vulnerability of what it means to be human in a constantly changing world.

Raffetto's words cut deep, reminding us that no one is spared the fleeting nature of time on this planet. To read these poems is to recognize an inescapable truth: blink and we risk missing the awe and melancholy inherent in living. Blink and we might miss what the world has to teach us. Sleepwalking Again is a powerful call to slow down, to be present for life in all its messy splendor.

-Janice Deal, author, The Blue Door and The Decline of Pigeons: Stories