Goddess Wears Cowboy Boots

Sailing West

by Katherine Hoerth

Winner of the 2015 Texas Institute of Letters' Helen C. Smith Memorial Award for Best Book of Poetry published by a Texas writer in 2014

These are poems that lovers of poetry will much admire, fans of stories will enjoy, and poets will find astonishing for the poetic mastery in the integration of form and meaning. Hoerth is a lyric poet of anecdotes and stories. Rather than tell a story her poems immerse readers in it with images speaking to all five senses. Open the book to any page and you will find the richness of her imagery.

Adding to the lyrical effect of the masterful use of imagery are the sounds. Most lines are blank verse, a subtle, musical form that in Hoerth's hands enhances the words rather than intruding upon them. In these pages the poet loans us her remarkable sensibilities so we can experience her world, and if we are wise, we can apply her sensual wisdom to new examinations of our own lives.

Order from any bookstore, local or online. This title is also available from Fleur Fine Books of Galveston, Texas. 

About the Author

Katie Hoerth

Katherine Hoerth is associate professor of English at Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas. She is a member of the Texas Insitute of Letters and the author of five poetry collections: Flare Stacks in Full Bloom (Texas Review Press, 2022), Borderland Mujeres (SFA University Press, 2021), The Lost Chronicles of Slue Foot Sue (Angelina River Press, 2018), Goddess Wears Cowboy Boots (Lamar University Literary Press, 2014), and The Garden Uprooted (Slough Press, 2012). She is the 2015 recipient of the Helen C. Smith Prize for the best book of poetry in Texas and the 2021 Poetry of the Plains Prize from North Dakota State University Press. Her 2021 letterpress chapbook, Prairie Madness, won honorable mention for the Eric Hoffer Award. Her work has been published in numerous literary magazines including Summerset ReviewValparaiso Review, and Southwestern American Literature