"The key word here is "wise." Michele Madigan Somerville's work is bodacious, curvaceous, smart-mouth, tough, vulnerable, and---indeed---wise. You know the characters in this epic---they live in your neighborhood, grew up with you, populate your family, and in some cases "are" you. You've been through the darkness she speaks of before, but you never knew how full of illumination that darkness could be--until now. Not only is Somerville a wonderful poet, she's a wonderful translator of light." --Sharon Mesmer

"Michele Madigan Somerville's WISEGAL is an audacious and exuberant tour de force. With a sharp ear and a love for the concrete, she has fused dramatic deftly drawn glimpses of work, friends and family into a ringing panoramic narrative, alternately acerbic, humorous, poignant-- always irresistible." -- Paul Violi

"WISEGAL is peerless." --Charles Aaron