"Reading Paul Willis's poems in Rosing from the Dead is like taking day hikes with an experienced, wise guide. I find myself trusting his lead and expecting each poem to show me a new vista. Along the way there's always his soft, often humorous voice that keeps me attentive to what we're passing and assures me that we'll make it home safely."

"Whether dreaming of lost fingers or musing on the string of Willises in the Dictionary of National Biography or learning to see through the divided world of bifocals, Paul Willis captures the immediate and pushes it beyond the mundane to an unusual angle of vision. These poems reach beyond the occasional event to the most deeply redemptive insights."

"Readers familiar with Paul Willis's poems know to expect a delightful weave of keen observation, whimsy, and grace. He speaks as one willing to be amused, surprised, and taught by ordinary encounters with other living beings. And he loves a good pun, as good poets always do, because meaning always comes by bearing secrets. The open secrets in these poems invite us all into a conspiracy of pleasure—in family life, in age and experience gratefully accepted, and in the wild, where we may still find renewal and revelation."