A poem is a powerful thing—it can touch the heart in ways that mere words cannot. But a lyric poem has the benefit of a custom soundtrack, so listeners get to experience the words with the added emotional power of music. The choral art is a magical synergy: the poet's heart, borne aloft by the genius of the composer's music, expertly interpreted by the director, internalized and brought to life by the singers, and then carried as a gift into the spirit of the listener. When it all works like it's supposed to, it is wondrous.

— Charles Anthony Silvestri, from the Preface

A Silver Thread is a comprehensive collection of Silvestri's lyric poetry, written between 2001–2018, including texts commissioned by choral composers and ensembles, as well as many new and unset poems available here all together for the first time.

Lyricist, poet, clinician, artist, and educator, CHARLES ANTHONY SILVESTRI is a lecturer in Ancient and Medieval History at Washburn University. He currently lives with his family in Lawrence, Kansas. For more, visit: www.charlesanthonysilvestri.com.