-Jeffrey Perkins, author of Kingdom

Beth Boylan's Third Rail teems with images conjured from a childhood still smoldering with loss. This fearless poet pulls us by the hand to introduce us to her family, forces us into devastating conversations, focuses our eyes on velvety moments, and fills our cups with complex wine; all the while, she layers in gorgeous memories to savor, soften, and sweeten the tragic. Boylan recounts love, reexamines it in her palms, holds it to the light. She doesn't spare us grief; she trusts us with immersion. Boylan pens her way to peace, a triumphant artist above the wreckage.

-Dana Kinsey, Lancaster City Poet Laureate, author of Mixtape Venus

Throughout this tapestry that is Third Rail, Beth Boylan skillfully weaves love and loss with elements of escape from a childhood preordained by gender assignment, intense guilt and shame embedded through religious upbringing, and, ultimately, forgiveness for saints and sins of family. Rich with lyrical lushness, these poems take the reader along on an expedition through phases of love throughout childhood and adulthood. Boylan encourages her reader to consider the charged and untouchable third rail and reminds us to salvage what we can and begin again, with hope for next spring.

-Linda Lamenza, author of Feast of the Seven Fishes and Left-Handed Poetry