Olives Keep Secrets

About the Author

Eugene Stevenson, son of immigrants, father of expatriates, is the author of Heart’s Code (Kelsay Books, 2024) & The Population of Dreams (Finishing Line Press, 2022). His poems have appeared widely in literary magazines & have been nominated for the Pushcart Prize. He lives in the mountains of western North Carolina. More at eugenestevenson.com

Rich in language, lyrical in tone,
Gene Stevenson’s exquisite poetry in Olives Keep Secrets, embellishes reflections of pain, probing, searching, and growth. From the beginning, Olives & sea soil, images & arcs, lips & tongues in constant caress, continue the slow turn of machinery down deep in genetic twists, Stevenson delves into secrets unexplained, ache and hurt, like A hatpin through the eardrum, and a question, Will you tell the truth to a dying man? These compelling poems will grip you in place, start to finish, moved beyond expectation. Lovers of poetry and lovers of humanity will hold this book to read again.

—
Mary Ricketson, author of TARA:
The Healing Power of Nature

Humor lends sweetness to the devastation. Bitter resentment adds flavor to the nostalgia. These are expertly seasoned poems, each more compelling than the next. A bit of emotional whiplash, for sure, in the best way possible.

—Eric Rasmussen, editor, Barstow and Grand

About Heart’s Code

Eugene Stevenson’s Heart’s Code is a work of true wonder. Ever since my introduction to his poetry, I have awaited his first collection and it is nothing short of magnificent. With deft precision and a keen eye, Stevenson captures the “places of great joy [and] the places of great pain” with a tender grace and moving beauty that will leave reader’s hearts aching for more.

—
Michelle Champagne, Susurrus, A Literary Arts Magazine
of the American South

About The Population of Dreams

Gene Stevenson is a visionary. He has an eye for small towns, lonely roads, the past, and the past in the present. When his poems talk to you, they haunt you.

—Dan Cuddy, editor, The Loch Raven Review

Thoughtful, creative and descriptive; a lovely little collection of “on the road” poetry.

– Robin Barrett, editor, The Poet