When Kendall Johnson began his Fireflies series, he chose a captivating form: excerpts, incapsulating news from current events, followed by verse and tales about individuals striving to do good. Taken together, these are expressions of hope. Lights in the darkness. From his perspective as writer, artist, and retired trauma therapist, Johnson has looked out at the world with sadness and grief. But then he did what he always has done in his professional and personal life: he went to work to see what hope could be carved out of the chaos.
Johnson speaks eloquently about this hope. But as a man who has been blessed to see the good as well as the evil in the world, his expressions of hope have quietly evolved into something more. In this fourth volume of the series, he lyrically makes perhaps the strongest statement of faith in humanity. Central to this statement are the lines of poetry that speak fiercely of being in the midst of life, in all its abundance and color. Punctuated by his art, these verses stand confidently and brilliantly, as clear and luminous beacons to guide all of us through the darkness.
—Kate Flannery

In one of Kendall Johnson's firefly-like haiku that spark in the dark night of the soul brought on by clickbait, disaster porn, doom scrolling news articles a conversation is imagined:

"how did we get here?"
little girl asks her father,
"It's a long story."

It is a profound yet understated, or even unstated comment on the state of the world, state violence, and the degraded states of the nature and human nature in times of regressive politics, rampant consumerism and worldwide pandemic. When the world burns in "a pyromaniacs paroxysm" it can be hard to find the good news that speaks to our kindness, that keeps us human. Fireflies tries to be such book, a tiny light in all that darkness.
—Tony Barnstone, author of The Radiant Tarot

In a vulnerable world and its complex human conditions, Kendall Johnson offers us a view away from hopelessness, not just to feel hopeful, but to consider becoming the hope, the change, the light.
—Jane Edberg, author of the illustrated memoir, The Fine Art of Grieving

These poems acknowledge the seemingly overwhelming challenges humanity faces now but offer hopes as high as mountaintops with stories of triumph over adversity. Kendall Johnson's poems exude heartfelt empathy and a humble, righteous call to see the world with wonder again and to never forget our past resilience as we bravely move forward into the unknown. There are fireflies around us, let the fireflies in this fine and inspiring volume of poetry guide you out of the darkness of our times.
—Kevin Ridgeway, author of Laughing in the Face of Death (Arroyo Seco Press)

With this second in the Fireflies series, Kendall Johnson has changed the way I see life and what is possible. There is pain, but there are always fireflies in the darkness. We are not alone, and the light has not yet been extinguished.
—John Brantingham, Inaugural Poet Laureate, Sequoia Kings Canyon National Park

My Mum always told me to make friends with the folks in my lifeboat. I shall always wish Kendall Johnson were among them! With his initial Fireflies Against Darkness, he reminded us in his beautiful, poetic way that hope may not conquer all, but it is the most powerful armor we have against adversity. In this equally affecting sequel, he shows us the power, unwitting—perhaps unwilling—and everyday heroes possess in very small boats with hope at the helm.
—Tracey Meloni, Writer, Nursing Education

Once again, in his second Fireflies book More Fireflies, Kendall Johnson has given us flashes of magic and hope in a bleak and disturbing world—magic and hope that are enduring and soul-deep. Johnson has known darkness of the heart, both in his personal life as a Vietnam veteran and later as a psychologist specializing in the treatment of severe trauma. And he doesn't hesitate to share some of that darkness in this new volume. But, as he did before, he is persistently driven to move us beyond that point where we lose trust in humanity. His "fireflies," small tales and glimpses of individual perseverance, generosity, and strength, are stunning reflections on the power of human goodness and the creative mind. If you are ever close to despair, you will want to hang on to Johnson's More Fireflies like the lifeline it is.
—Kate Flannery, Writer of Ekphrasis for the Sasse Museum of Art, poetry, and memoir

I was so heartened by reading More Fireflies, a continuation of the first collection. We really do need more of these uplifting stories and poem snippets to help counteract the tough news we've been hearing everyday.
—Louella Lester, author of Glass Bricks

What a joy to read More Fireflies, Kendall Johnson's sequel to his remarkable chapbook Fireflies Against Darkness. As someone who savored the first offering, I eagerly read this new volume. I was not disappointed.
—Alexis Rhone Fancher, author of EROTIC: New & Selected, poetry, editor, Cultural Daily

Kendall Johnson's Fireflies against Darkness is in the end a bright spot in a world that could seem endlessly painful. The author has seen more evil than any one person should have to see from his tour of Vietnam where young men were asked to savage a country and murder strangers, to New York City during the days of 9/11. Between and after that time, he has made a career of confronting evil through his practice as a trauma psychotherapist. What is extraordinary about him is that rather than being dragged down into that evil, he has fought to see the spots of light in an otherwise chaotic universe and to make them his practice. He has maintained his essential self, and this book is a guide for us to do the same.
—John Brantingham, Inaugural Poet Laureate, Sequoia Kings Canyon National Park

In life and in print, Kendall Johnson IS this title and believes in its tiny promises. His words are both heart-breaking and heart-mending—but most of all they encourage hope. No matter how dark the circumstance, man-caused or natural, his beautifully-wrought words are spare beacons, truly Fireflies Against Darkness.
—Tracey Meloni, Writer, Nursing Education

In this collection, Kendall Johnson displays his keen sense of observation in our human condition during our current chaotic times of darkness. Even when writing about how things couldn't possibly seem worse, the power of his words and the beauty of his haiku portray how the actions of others produce fireflies of hope in all of us.
—Annie Bien, Author of Plateau Migrations and Under Shadows of Stars

Kendall Johnson is no stranger to pain and chaos. As a former firefighter, Vietnam veteran, and psychologist specializing in crisis management and the treatment of traumatic stress, he has mastered the art of wrestling with tangled lives. He's perfected that art in this latest volume. He unflinchingly shows us the darkness while at the same time revealing exquisite, small tales of individual perseverance, generosity, and strength. The contrast is stunningly inspiring.
—Kate Flannery, Writer of Ekphrasis for the Sasse Museum of Art, poetry, and memoir

When times are tough, like they have been lately, we sometimes need help to get through. Kendall Johnson gives us that in Fireflies Against Darkness. Short hard news pieces are followed by tiny verses that, like fireflies, light the path connecting us to quietly courageous people who, using art or music or nature, bring us hope. Bring us out of the darkness. I love this book!
—Louella Lester, author of Glass Bricks

This remarkable, highly original chapbook juxtaposes bulletins from the COVID-pandemic, out of control wildfires, natural disasters, mass shootings, and climate change chaos with glimpses of the famous (and not so famous) denizens of the art world and their struggles, including Chuck Close, Georgia and Ida O'Keeffe, and Vincent Van Gogh. I could not stop reading this mesmerizing collection. I didn't want it to end. Kendall Johnson has written something important, holding up a mirror to our tarnished reality.
—Alexis Rhone Fancher, author of EROTIC: New & Selected, poetry, editor, Cultural Daily