Loie Johnson's poetry is spare and magical. Her debut volume of poetry, Sacred Hours, Common Acts, often describes the natural and urban worlds in the colors of a painter. It is spiritual without being preachy, with an Eastern influence that doesn't veer into Orientalism. Johnson makes good use of open field; the placement of words on the page are important to this visual thinker. Her imagination is historical. She is an accomplished wordsmith with a light hand who is deep without ever being ponderous. Her skillfully crafted poems are a delight to read and to reread. —Jan Steckel, Author of The Horizontal Poet (Zeitgeist Press, 2011) Winner of the Lambda Literary Award