West Virginia newspaper The Journal recently ran a review of Ray Gonzalez's award-winning Beautiful Wall in its Weekender section, calling the book a "profound journey into the heart of a man familiar with the gods of poetry, politics, and art."

Reviewer Sonja James praises Gonzalez's ability to combine his surrealistic style with the current issues surrounding the U.S. including religion, immigration, and racism. She says: "These poems celebrate humanity in its relationship to the greater undercurrents of being in the world. . . . This is a bright and generous book proving that poetry sustains us in our quest for the beautiful."

The review concludes: "As a whole, Ray Gonzalez’s Beautiful Wall is a work of luminous intensity that emerges from the poet’s pure imagination. He calls upon both gods and poets to buttress his creation. Here the natural world and the world of surreal fantasy coexist. The voice of Gonzalez is the sound of the wind in the trees. His art is imbued with courage, light, and prayer. In short, he is one of those rare poets with the power to give shape to the unknown forces that guide us from birth to death. Beautiful Wall is a magnificent achievement."

Beautiful Wall is available now at the BOA Bookstore.