Brenda White’s verse resounds deeply, even in the dark places and in sentiments we Midwest working-class folk don’t often like to share. One might say she gives voice to the masses, her verse capturing the light and dark of those who dare to dream, even when we suspect our dreams might end in disappointment. Only a true poet can turn life’s harsh realities into line and stanza that move us to reflect, connect, and read again. Praise for: With unapologetic honesty and a masterful use of language, Brenda Leigh White, in Blue Collar Saint, cycles through whimsy, curiosity, and harsh reality. Always questioning the world around her, White writes with sharpness, clarity, and wit, leaving the reader alternately gutted and longing for more. -Cheryl Unruh, Kansas Notable titles: Flyover People and Waiting on the Sky ; Walking on Water, & Gravedigger's Daughter: Vignettes from a Small Kansas Town In her first poetry collection, Brenda Leigh White is no stranger to irony, to the way a sharp turn of phrase can feel like the gut punch we didn't know we needed. White's reflections on the small and big things in life are apt-from reflecting on how lost single shoes end up on the side of the road to her experience with the Vietnam War, White's poems are sharp observations of life and the ways in which we all navigate it. -Lindsey Bartlett, Vacant Childhood The verses in Blue Collar Saint were born on the assembly line, in the working-class spaces and places of this poetic traveler's journey. White shares her scars and lays bare a resilience rooted in wit, intelligence, and strength. This is a fine collection, from an authentic new voice in Kansas poetry. -Kerry Moyer, Turnpike Prairie Brenda Leigh White is a native of Emporia, Kansas, but her heart resides on the family farm in Morris County. Her most favorite place in Kansas is the woods and creek on the farm. There she has seen snakes fishing in a puddle and found a baby western box turtle at the natural spring feeding into the creek. She has had poetry published in Quivera and The Flint Hills Review . What she loves most about living in Kansas is the beauty of the flint hills and the state motto, ad astra per aspera , "to the stars through difficulties." Brenda White's Honest and Masterful Poetry: A Journey Through Emotions Kansas Love: Flint Hills Beauty and State Motto