Among the Statues There: Poems

The decline of religious influence has incurred ambiguity in the objective of art. What was once quite clearly the representation of things divine or otherworldly has now become what proves to be the least expense and the greatest convenience. Capital, now, is patron: the objective is profit. This substitution is formidable, for genuine works of poetry, such as the present, of music and painting, are means of teaching us about ourselves and the world around us. An understanding of the interdependency of everything elicits our empathy, and this understanding can only be attained through genuine works of art.

This collection may not be that in which one fell swoop revives the dwindling significance of art, but it certainly does stand as a testament of its revitalization. It lends aid to the fundamental effort of a Neo-Renaissance, to which Mr. Morgan is doubtlessly an adherent, and proclaims in unwavering terms that in a time of odious morbidity, art is our one salvation. - Kurt Cassidy-Gabhartan author and filmmaker

Austin C. Morgan was born in Southern Indiana. He currently serves as a contributing editor to New York based literary journal aaduna Inc.