On the Edge of Something

"James Benger has long been a voice for the down and out, those who've never caught a break or had that one teacher who took notice and said, "You can do this." Most of the world looks away from them. Benger shows us their pain and humanity, pulls us into their corner. She, the subject of this collection, is never named. Is she you? Have you been through a bad patch when you wished for anything but this anything? She's paralyzed in endless self-talk, all colors bleeding to gray. No lust tomorrow / can grow / with her thumb / on life's reset. Dear reader, please put out your hand and help her to the other side." -Alarie Tennille, author of Three A.M. at the Museum and Waking on the Moon. "James Benger's work consistently shines in its intimacy, bringing insight and understanding to bear upon the lives of those mostly forgotten or discarded by time and polite society. on the edge of something is no exception to this rule. Each poem reads like an encapsulated novel. The great joy of this work negates the unlikelihood that this voice would be heard in their brutal existence, clinging in dank solitary to their last rays of sunlight and hope. James gives emotions context and life in a way that immortalizes each of these experiences and should exalt these voices to the echelon of the beauty of human experience that they always deserved." -Macey Web, author of Crying at Walls