Dwellers in the House of the Lord

"There's so much life in this beautiful book that it feels like a living thing. Wesley McNair is a kind of Chekhov of American poetry.” —Ted Kooser, Pulitzer Prize winner and former U. S. Poet Laureate A book to restore your faith in love's strength to unite us.

Set in rural Virginia, the poet's younger sister Aimee is adrift in a difficult marriage to Mike, an off-the-grid gun shop owner. Through this book-length poem, Wesley McNair, one of today's finest storytellers in poetry or prose, attests to patience and perseverance, and an unwavering belief in compassion and reconciliation, even amidst the ugly politics of our time. Dwellers in the House of the Lord has been named a finalist for the 2020 New England Book Award for Poetry.

Critical Praise

“The story [McNair] tells is a broad, American story about immigration, cultural values and place, all embodied in smaller stories of family and home... Ultimately, Dwellers in the House of the Lord is also about reconciliation in the age of division, reconciliation of family and nation." —Maine Sunday Telegram

“McNair has always managed to insert some humor in his poetry…a kind of wry eye for our foibles. There’s little of that in Dwellers in the House of the Lord. While we might miss it, the times, the poet seems to say, call for a more sober approach.” —The Cafe Review 

“What makes this such an exquisite book is the deeply empathetic, soulful vulnerability that carries the narrative forward.” —Bookconscious