Faith by Reflection II
A Christian conversion is an experience like no other. It is a journey, often a long one, which takes a person from a state of indifference and distraction to a state of submission and adoration. The question is, how can this experience be conveyed to the public? In the heart of man, every beat is a note in the melody of life. As the chords are touched, notes sound, and melodies are made. In a rare moment, the right chord is touched in the F key, and Faith echoes. From then on, the melody will remain in the F key with Jesus conducting. The melody reaches a climax with the last note played in the E key, Eternity. Melodies played in the F key, ending in the E key, wrapped in meaning, and harmonised by Christ for a better sound, please the Lord. It is hoped that the poems and the proverbs written in this book will touch the hearts of the readers to generate a response which is worthy of a true inner faith in God.
The Teahouse of Experience
This poetry book contains a four-year collection of poetry and prose, memories, rituals, life, death, rebirth, and women's wisdom. Dedicated to every woman who managed to find a room of their own to practise creative art, experience their own writing journey, and find a voice and a path to the 'middle way' and freedom, which, once tasted and known, can never be unknown. Aspects of Tibetan Buddhism, Japanese haiku, Sanskrit and other words in foreign text are strung together somatically like threads of art, entwined and embodied as body, as ritual, as landscape, as sanctuary with pieces of Self, and excerpts of experimental poetry submitted for classes on this journey. The experience was sometimes intense, at times challenging, but mostly filled with awe, creativity, and joy at what transformed from pen to page. I journeyed 'all-in', saying yes to what this immersion experience presented, then further coaxed myself into depths that I can only call echoes and whispers received from the unseen ancestors, embedded within divine guidance from those that had walked the path before me.
Compatriots of Desire
Compatriots of Desire follows one man's unflinching journey through debt, disillusionment, addiction, and the quiet collapse of a life lived under capitalism's relentless glare. Once an intelligent family man commuting across London's bridges to the Financial Quarter, he becomes worn down by pressure, expectation, and the slow erosion of his mental health. When the 2020 Coronavirus pandemic brings the country to a standstill, he finds an unexpected lifeline - yet every rescue comes with consequences. As he abandons work, technology, and the noise of society, he begins to question everything he once believed about success, money, and meaning. The bridges he crosses - both real and metaphorical - mark the turning points of a life in search of something better. But where does the journey lead? Toward contentment, or further into the unknown? Told in lyrical prose woven with poetry, Compatriots of Desire is a continuous, immersive story of collapse, clarity, and the fragile hope of starting again.
New Contexts
Although you might be tempted to group the subjects which preoccupy writers into broad categories - love, grief, war, nature and so forth - the truth remains that creative writing is triggered by an infinite variety of moments, thoughts, experiences. Not only do New Contexts' contributors immerse themselves in this bottomless pool of inspiration, they can also be relied upon to tackle depictions and interpretations of what they find in a myriad of ways.New Contexts: 8 is no different. Describing the volume as an anthology of poetry and prose might therefore be seen as belittling the achievements of the writers concerned. In fact, what they are gifting us are widows onto our world; windows of different shapes and sizes, their panes of glass stained in multifarious hues, embossed with designs ranging from the weird to the wonderful.And because our readers come at the world through their own slant too, it is highly likely that you will find something here - either poetry or prose - which will strike you as 'just right'...
Tips for Teaching in America
In Tips for Teaching in America, Joshua Roark delivers a sharp, unflinching poetry collection drawn from the lived realities of the classroom. Written from the perspective of a teacher navigating the emotional, political, and deeply human terrain of American education, these poems capture moments of humor, grief, resistance, and unexpected grace.Set against the backdrop of the Mississippi Delta, Roark's work explores the fragile rituals of school life, the language students and teachers use to survive, and the quiet relationships that shape a generation. Blending narrative clarity with lyrical urgency, the collection reflects on what it means to guide young voices while confronting the limits of institutions and the weight of personal responsibility.Previously released under the title Put One Hand Up, Lean Back, this Special SXSW Edition arrives alongside the premiere of Roark's film Dead Deer High, where the book itself appears as part of the story's creative world. Together, the poems form a powerful meditation on teaching, storytelling, and the search for connection in a complicated America.Honest, intimate, and socially aware, Tips for Teaching in America speaks to educators, artists, and readers drawn to poetry that listens closely to the voices inside and outside the classroom.
Compatriots of Desire
Compatriots of Desire follows one man's unflinching journey through debt, disillusionment, addiction, and the quiet collapse of a life lived under capitalism's relentless glare. Once an intelligent family man commuting across London's bridges to the Financial Quarter, he becomes worn down by pressure, expectation, and the slow erosion of his mental health. When the 2020 Coronavirus pandemic brings the country to a standstill, he finds an unexpected lifeline - yet every rescue comes with consequences. As he abandons work, technology, and the noise of society, he begins to question everything he once believed about success, money, and meaning. The bridges he crosses - both real and metaphorical - mark the turning points of a life in search of something better. But where does the journey lead? Toward contentment, or further into the unknown? Told in lyrical prose woven with poetry, Compatriots of Desire is a continuous, immersive story of collapse, clarity, and the fragile hope of starting again.
Swallowing the Muskellunge
London Oxford was prepared to do whatever it took to get to the promised land, but can he get his family safely across the border?Young Abner Oxford has kept something of his mother's. Something else needs what he has. It's patient, can be quite disarming, and has a monstrous, fierce appetite. Abner and his family, along with a caravan of sleighs, are moving north.The frigid cold and the blinding white have made the adults slow, weary, and numb. Very few questioned the drag marks in the snow or the mounting number of disappearances. Abner's father felt like that-until it woke him up.Fans of The Terror, the Fisherman, and El Norte will be hooked.
Don't Ask Me How I Know
A heart in extremity-what hungers, urgencies, hardships drive and deliver us? These poems, like fierce midwives who insist on getting life to its necessity of oxygen, restore power to us, recreate us in the process. We feel what lifts the moment, what comforts and holds us as we lean over the abyss. Even the ability to howl our lostness in a field is a saving volition and bounty this extraordinary poet fearlessly delivers to sustain us.-Tess Gallagher, author of Is, Is NotDon't Ask Me How I Know tenderly reveals the forces that shape human experience are more essential than having all the answers. We witness and grieve with her on tarmac and in stairwells, save old yellow sheets from the hospital shredder, reconnect over social media only to then let go. We too grow protective over the most vulnerable, the buck restfully hiding in her yard before making his escape, the beauty of one more day.-Rosebud Ben-Oni, author of the Alice James Award-Winning If This Is the Age We End Discovery
Unbroken Circle, Unending Thread
The poems in Unbroken Circle, Unending Thread hew to Mary Oliver's admonition: "Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it." The focus is on the changing seasons and the passage of time-beginning in winter and returning there in an epilogue-with a subtext of attunement to both the subtle joys of experiencing the evolving and revolving of the year and to the sense of loss inherent in the inevitability of impermanence. Embedded in the subconscious of these poems is the centrality of climate change and its disorienting and deleterious effects on all inhabitants-human and otherwise-of planet earth.
From Lightning's Strike
From Lightning's Strike is a collection of lyric poems rooted in ancestral Ch'ol Mayan culture and animated by vivid images of the natural world. Written by Juana Karen Pe簽ate, winner of the 2020 Indigenous Literatures of the Americas Award, and translated from the Mayan Ch'ol, these multivocal poems recall the work of Mary Oliver, Joy Harjo, and Adrienne Rich. Honest, searching, and assertively female, Pe簽ate speaks from and about the body, celebrating an intimate bond with nature while confronting the personal and the political. Carol Rose Little and Charlotte Friedman, linguist and poet, respectively, worked in partnership to bring this unique voice to English-speaking audiences.
Condition
Condition is a vivid account of early motherhood during the isolation and global intensity of the COVID pandemic. Reynolds witnesses the impossible transformations of her home, her child, and herself while reckoning with a past that overlays the act of parenting. The book is a record of an awe both astonishing and terrible in a rare language rich with metaphor and depth of insight. "To become a parent and to write this book, I had to use every tool and skill at my disposal and had to invent new ones at the moment they were needed. I drew, wrote, slept, ate, fed, found and refound a thousand toys and small items of clothing, brushed hair, had my hair torn out, largely alone. What no one witnessed, I witnessed for myself on the page." For Reynolds, motherhood is a strange landscape of ghosts, monsters, illness, longing, and surprise. It is a wilderness where she and her family must navigate under the strange constraints of the pandemic within the walls of their small apartment and the empty neighborhood. In the absence of others, parenting is an invention and the self is an ever-changing reality. Between the poems, poetry comics, hybrid illustration, and drawn collages, Condition is a powerful collection of work that attests to hard work of love and artmaking.
I Was Your Bird
I Was Your Bird explores love, memory, identity, and transformation with a voice that is sharp, intimate, and often hauntingly surreal. Grappling with disconnection, environmental destruction, substance misuse, trauma, and the dissolution of a relationship, these poems move through dive bars, prehistoric landscapes, and dreamlike interiors shaped by queer poetics and magical realism. This collection leans into the strange to confront both personal and planetary collapse. From imagined letter-poems to a contemporary Emily Dickson to meditations on mortality and resilience, I Was Your Bird refuses easy answers. Without viable models from the dominant culture to solve problems of self, the speaker forges their own path in search of meaning, connection, and the possibility of redemption.
Mother of Rome
A powerful and fierce reimagining of the earliest Roman legends: the twins Romulus and Remus, mythical founders of history's greatest empire, and the woman whose sacrifice made it all possible. The names Romulus and Remus may be immortalized in map and stone and chronicle, but their mother exists only as a preface to her sons' journey, the princess turned oath-breaking priestess, condemned to death alongside her children. Except she did not die; she survived. And so does her story. Beautiful, royal, rich: Rhea has it all--until her father loses his kingdom in a treacherous coup, and she is sent to the Order of the Vestal Virgins to ensure she will never produce an heir. But when mortals scheme, gods laugh. Rhea becomes pregnant, and human society turns against her. Abandoned, ostracized, and facing the gravest punishment, Rhea forges a dangerous deal with the divine, one that will forever change the trajectory of her life . . . and her beloved land. To save her sons and reclaim their birthright, Rhea must summon nature's mightiest force--a mother's love--and fight. All roads may lead to Rome, but they began with Rhea Silvia.
SPAR; The Book of Moira; Book One
When Montreal nurse Moira McGinnis opens her door to an agent who knows too much about her family, she's thrust into a war.Her heritage is a contract. Her Clan carries secrets that span ancient Egypt, Ancient Ireland, and the pirate clans of Tortuga. Pursued by forces both human and other, Moira must shed her life as a healer to become something fiercer. Guided by kin, watched by spirits, she steps into a duty where people don't just die-they disappear.Book I of the SPAR Saga. For readers of American Gods, The Gilded Ones, The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, and Blood Scion.
Just You
About the BookA Bridge of Verses Between Two LanguagesIn this luminous bilingual collection, every English poem is mirrored by its Hindi reflection, allowing readers to experience each emotion twice - once in the intimacy of one language, and again in the resonance of another. Through themes of love, longing, surrender, and spiritual awakening, the verses explore the delicate balance between human vulnerability and inner strength. The Hindi poems are not literal translations, but poetic reflections that carry the same heartbeat in a different rhythm. For readers who believe poetry is not just read but felt, Just You is a book to return to - each time discovering something new. About the AuthorKshama Dhir is a chartered accountant by qualification who has dedicated three decades of her professional life to the finance offshoring industry. Her book Just You is the unique result of a deep passion to connect the seemingly disparate worlds of corporate life, philosophy, and everyday existence. Written during her personal quest for life's deeper meaning, this bilingual collection features original poems in both English and Hindi, exploring universal emotions and spiritual concepts. The book also incorporates evocative line art created by her daughter, Ahana, making it a special mother-daughter collaboration. Kshama continues her journey to bridge the demands of the outer world with the insights of inner life.
Make It Shine!
Make it Shine! is a celebration and appreciation of language diversity and poetic forms such as dub-wise and narrative poetry poised for performance. The reader becomes engaged through the rhythms of speech and humour whilst identifying with a character or situation. At times, the reader is led to a place of self-reflection through such themes as spiritual and cultural identity, transition, adoption, bullying, love, perseverance, resilience and renewal. Within the Make It Shine! collection, you will find poems that celebrate Black heroines and heroes from our past and present thus acknowledging the existence and rich legacy of ancient civilizations well before the transatlantic slave trade. Here, the spoken voice echoes the invitation to those who are willing to 'shine' encouraging them to go that extra mile to achieve their future aspirations. As well as entertaining her audience with her crafted use of Caribbean dialect and humorous reflections of 'small days', Make It Shine! will not only inspire but will provide moments of appreciation for the rich culturally diverse beginnings that salute our heritage.
Offspring
Offspring's diverse range of poems is framed by letters to an unusual correspondent.The ideas, some serious, some affecting not to be, are like toys for the recipient and might be enjoyed or discarded as his tastes change.The recipient himself though will never change.
Dancing Through Seafoam
Experience a vivid and lyrical journey through the circle of life, where memories of past lives meet a fierce spiritual awakening.In Dancing Through Seafoam, Sky Gropper delivers a collection of contemporary poetry that breathes through the ancient soul and the modern world. With a lyrical and evocative quality that echoes long after the final page, these poems will guide readers through the layers of existence to explore the lessons of spiritual discovery, offering a stark and unflinching perspective on today's degenerating world.With finely curated verses, journey through the powerful messages of personal and universal truths.Through striking imagery, Skye Gropper invites both seasoned poetry lovers and those new to the genre to discover their own reflections within her verses. Whether navigating through the echoes of a past life or seeking clarity in the present time, this collection is forSpiritually tuned individuals looking for a deeper connection to a soul's journeyModern readers craving understanding of the current state of the worldLovers of vivid imagery with rhythmic yet accessible versesPersonal, urgent, and resonant universally, Dancing Through Seafoam is more than just a collection of poems-it is an invitation to uncover your truth.
I Want to Be Your Radio
"I am the mother of the poem. . . . I learn how young I am beside her," Sheila E. Murphy tells us in this stunning new book. Reading Murphy's poems is like stepping into a wind tunnel inside a hurricane, yet finding a stillness that allows all the swirls of the world to wrap around her and us. In this latest collection, she brings all her powers to bear upon a fiercely tender interrogation of grief and the languages gained and lost in trying to approach it. But Murphy-as she has so often done throughout her celebrated career-finds a way to explore the tender places without getting lost in them, with language always as a redemptive agent. I have been reading Sheila Murphy's remarkable poetry for years, and I always find in it a healing salve that tears language apart while simultaneously piecing it back together, presenting it as the healing power it is.-George Kalamaras, former Poet Laureate of Indiana (2014-2016)
The Sigh and Flutter
The Sigh and Flutter uncovers the shimmer of meaning in life's overlooked corners-dreams tucked away, goofy dog noises, a sudden rush of gratitude. With wit, tenderness, and keen observation, Julie Ann Baker Brin transforms the ordinary into the luminous, reminding us that the sacred lives within the everyday. Both whimsical and wise, these poems embrace the paradox of human experience-its gravity and its wonder. From the emotional archaeology of a "personal storage space" to a cascade of unexpected gratitude, Brin's voice is intimate, sharp, and deeply human. She invites readers to rediscover beauty in the mundane and to see how even the smallest details can glimmer with significance.Advance praise calls this collection "hopeful, specific, philosophical, wise" (Kevin Rabas, Kansas Poet Laureate, 2017-2019), "magnificent and alarming" (Michael Poage), and "reimagining the small intimacies and disconnects that shape our lives" (Gretchen Cassel Eick).Whether enjoyed for solace, inspiration, or surprise, The Sigh and Flutter meets readers in the fleeting, unpredictable now. These poems remind us that life is both fragile and resilient-that the human spirit is as much about earthbound coffee as it is about the stars.
Vrishaketu The Mighty Son of Karna
'In the shadow of his legendary father Karna, Vrishaketu embarks on a quest for truth and vengeance. Haunted by the memories of his father's epic battle with Arjuna, he dedicates himself to mastering the art of war. As he hones his skills, Vrishaketu attracts the attention of the Pandavas and the wise Vidura, who recognize his untapped potential. With Vidura's guidance, he uncovers the secrets of his destiny and the true purpose of his life. When Gandharvas attack, Vrishaketu's bravery and skill shine, earning him a place among the greatest warriors. As he battles alongside Arjuna, Vrishaketu proves himself a worthy son of Karna, and his legendary father's legacy lives on through him. With his newfound zeal, Vrishaketu sets out to forge his own path, guided by the wisdom of Vidura and the spirit of his father. He becomes a force to be reckoned with, and his name echoes through the land as a hero in his own right. Will Vrishaketu's journey lead him to greatness, or will the weight of his father's legacy consume him? The epic tale of Vrishaketu continues, filled with action, adventure, and the timeless themes of honor, duty, and self-discovery.
More Beautiful Than the Dead
In More Beautiful Than the Dead, Bellinger crafts bruising and beautiful moments of black life into an intimate and filmic songbook."Danny Bellinger's long lyric lines create a bright score of memory and music. Drawing from the pressurized socio political atmosphere of the 1960's, with its war and racial violence, these poems have the heft of history at their baseline, but what catches the ear most is Bellinger's complex meditations on beauty, art, survival, grief, and love-all rooted in the tenderness of familial portraits and personal revelations. In this chapbook, the past is not only alive: it is still singing."--Danielle Cadena Deulen, author of Desire MuseumDanny Bellinger is a poet, writer and Assistant Professor at Georgia Highlands College in Atlanta, GA., and is a PhD candidate at Georgia State University. He is a 2021 and2024 Community of Writers Summer Poetry Fellow and recipient of their Lucille Clifton and C.D. Wright Memorial Scholarships. His work has appeared or is forthcoming inCommunity of Writers Poetry Review, Black Renaissance Noire, LIT Mag.(online), Old Red Kimono, Black Sunflowers Poetry, Obsidian, Callaloo, and others.
Elegies of Herons
Graceful and beguiling, Elegies of Herons distils hope from nature in Wetzel's luminous poetics of tristesse.Sarah Wetzel is the author of the poetry collections The Davids Inside David, most recently released from Terrapin Books, River Electric with Light which won the AROHO Poetry Publication Prize and was published by Red Hen Press in 2015, and Bathsheba Transatlantic, which won the Philip Levine Prize for Poetry and was published by Anhinga Press in 2010. When not shuttling between her two geographic loves -Rome, Italy and New York City -she is Publisher and Editor at Saturnalia Books and a PhD Candidate in Comparative Literature in the CUNY Graduate center in New York City.
Mountainbird Melodies Book One--Dances with Waterfalls
Mountainbird's poetry challenges women to face each day as an adventure. This poetry for women chronicles the maturing of the poet herself, a woman who transforms from youthful depression and insecurity to mature confidence, self-esteem and inner strength, faith and peace.Through these empowering story poems, Mountainbird Melodies: Book One--Dances with Waterfalls, Mountainbird takes the reader by the hand and gently leads her through a metamorphosis. While most women will struggle at times much like a caterpillar in its cocoon, these poems will inspire them to awaken to healing and growth, inner strength and confidence. Laugh, cry, and reminisce as you read empowering poems about nature, motherhood, empty nesting, grief, as well as love and relationships. The female poet, Mountainbird, encourages each reader to embrace a life imbued with joy and gratitude during each day's events. As you read, discover your own emotional healing, growth, inner strength, perseverance, and beautiful metamorphosis.Throughout the first three sections, the poetry reflects transformations the poet went through: Cocoon, Awakening, and Fullness. The last section of story poems, Herstory, records heartfelt personal events. As the reader explores each poetry section, she discovers heart wrenching events and challenging emotions that transform a woman as she matures and heals.Mountainbird shares to empower women to discover, choose and chart their own marvelous self and future. May each woman enjoy these poetic melodies, while filling up her personal treasure chest with bountiful precious memories.As a newly divorced young mother, Mountainbird began sharing her writing when she tossed her first poetry submission into an old-fashioned post office box on the side of a country road. She, then, quickly shut the lid, so she could not change her mind. Thus, Mountainbird's publications began with the poem, By a New Salem Brook during Midwinter's Thaw, first published in the small, country town newsletter, The Wendell Times of Wendell, Massachusetts. As the years passed, she published poems, scholarly articles, educational manuals, local newspaper columns, and (eventually) books.Her first book is Lookin' Up in Down Times: Stars Shine Bright on a Moonless Night. Her second is a children's picture book, The Healing Circle. Mountainbird Melodies: Book One-Dances with Waterfalls is her third book. At only twelve years old, Lydia Noble rose to the challenge as illustrator. Lydia is a student of art, dance, quilting, nature, and all things beautiful. Her inspiration is her faith and the unique coastal scenery of eastern North Carolina where she resides. Mountainbird Melodies is her first experience as a book illustrator. She genuinely hopes her artwork blesses and encourages others.
The Drag Gospel of Queer Jesus
Rescuing biblical language from misuse by those who would persecute queerness and subjugate the natural world, The Drag Gospel of Queer Jesus contemporizes and enlivens Biblical mysteries, exploring queer/trans identities and Florida ecologies through poetic forms (both received and invented) as often as through free verse. Simultaneously playful and serious, like the best drag performances, these poems nod equally and as often to the work of RuPaul or Marsha P. Johnson as to William Shakespeare or the author(s) of Genesis. Meanwhile, as the poems point to the artificial constructions of gender, they also embrace the (queer) natural world.
April and Back Again
Midway through April and Back Again, Claire Taylor asks herself, "Where is the line between hope and stupidity?"Tracking the final year of her thirties from April 2024 through April 2025, Claire Taylor's debut poetry collection is an intimate portrait of loving and living against a backdrop of existential dread. Deftly oscillating between quotidian scenes of family life and the anxiety of raising children amid the realities of climate change, gun violence, and a democracy on the verge of demise, Taylor leads us through the ups and downs of a year that was history in the making. Simultaneously marveling at the magic of watching her children grow and witnessing the horror of a country going, literally and figuratively, down in flames, April and Back Again follows Taylor from the pleasures of life's little moments into the growing depths of her own despair.Full of quiet meditations, heartfelt introspection, and delightful hints of humor, April and Back Again is like the first hopeful signs of spring after a long, cold winter.
Lies Blurring Here
Lies Blurring Here by Adam Piette is a richly textured, formally various collection that thinks through dream, memory, and perception as mutable states where self and world repeatedly unfasten. Moving between nocturnes, necropastorals, ekphrastic sequences, and lyric meditations, the book is steeped in intertextual conversation, from Apollinaire and Dickinson to Kafka, Dante, Sappho and Lully, yet remains acutely local in its attention to Derbyshire walks, domestic rooms, and specific weathers. Piette's language is intricate and sonic, alive to etymology, pun, and echo, while the poems' architectures create lattices of recurrence and slant return. Throughout, the work tests how consciousness is patterned by history, art, and technology, and how grief, love, and political unease register in the smallest shifts of light or sound. Lies Blurring Here is a dense, luminous, and deeply relational poetry of thinking and feeling in motion.
Well Seasoned
Well Seasoned honors the seasons of the natural world and of life. A subtle spirituality is woven throughout the work as it exhibits gratitude for nature, celebrates commonplace activities of family life, faces challenges of aging, and confronts injustices against planet Earth and its inhabitants. Frazer, drawing from wisdom gained during her many seasons of life, invites the reader to recognize and value their own seasons. ----------"In Joanne Kennedy Frazer's chapbook, Well Seasoned, you find: the extra-ordinary graced beautythat some would callnothing out of the ordinary.Frazer's love for nature is apparent as is her pain at our abuse of planet Earth. Throughout the work the reader senses Frazer's deep gratitude for the natural world, and for richness of family life and of life's stages, including the later ones. The reader will enjoy Frazer's use of a variety of poetic forms."-ELAINE BAUMAN, author of To Hold It All So Gently-----------------"Frazer chooses Thomas Merton's prescription for happiness as an epigraph for her new collection. His call for balance, order, rhythm and harmony is reflected in the beautifully crafted poems of Well Seasoned. Beginning with a series extolling the order and restorative power of our natural world, Frazer uses the rhythm of seasons to reflect the cycles of our lives. She transitions smoothly into poems of justice, of actions bestowing dignity to all, and laments the discord and disparity of opportunity we are handing to the next generation. But there is hope. With well-seasoned wisdom, she completes this collection with poems of nurturing family and healing found through nature." -DOROTHY BAIRD, author of Ribbon Without End
Gentle Currents
Gentle Currents is a poetry collection created as a refuge for the heart-a soft landing for souls seeking hope, tenderness, and renewal. Through mindful self-compassion, the poems invite readers to slow down, notice the world around them, and reconnect with the resilience and love that live within us all. Each piece flows with awareness of our shared humanity and our deep connection to nature, holding everything-joy, grief, imperfection-with open arms.Accompanied by Edward Kane's luminous watercolor paintings, these poems form a vibrant, all-color gift book. The result is a work of art that nourishes the senses while offering emotional sustenance. Written and illustrated in the spirit of community-rooted in the Wednesday morning mindfulness meditation group that began in the lockdown of 2020-Gentle Currents celebrates love in all its forms: love for self, for each other, and for the planet.-------------------Reading Julie Potiker's poems is like slipping into a refreshing stretch of ocean: we feel ourselves held by the largeness and power of her attention to the world around her, buoyed by the abundance of the here and now. This book will remind you, over and over, this is how the soul spells home.-JAMES CREWS, author of Turning Toward Grief In a world that feels shaky, unsettled, far from gentle, Gentle Currents is just the breath of fresh air we so urgently need. You will want to keep this treasure close, a north star pointing you toward home when the waves of life threaten to pull you under. -JULIA FEHRENBACHER, author of Staying in LoveThese are poems of noticing, opening and relishing. And when combined with the stunning art of Edward Kane, these poems become prayer, become lifeline, become an invitation to be wildly present in our own lives. -ROSEMERRY WAHTOLA TROMMER, author of The Unfolding and host of The Poetic PathThe poet invites us on an attentive, even prayerful, journey. Our companions: sun and moon, bees and aspen trees, matzo balls and brisket, shards and sorrows, yellow poppies and wild roses . . . the entire rhapsody we tune into. At the end, we're left with what we begin with: thank you thank you thank you. That's more than enough.-PHYLLIS COLE-DAI, poet/writer, co-editor of the Poetry of Presence volumes
Sixty Folk-Tales from Exclusively Slavonic Sources
In Sixty Folk-Tales from Exclusively Slavonic Sources, readers encounter a vibrant world shaped by ancient forests, prophetic maidens, clever peasants, enchanted rulers, and the unseen forces that guide human destiny. Selected from the celebrated anthology of Karel Jarom穩r Erben, one of the founding figures of Czech folklore studies, these tales preserve the oral traditions of the Slavonic peoples in their most vivid form.Translated in the nineteenth century by A. H. Wratislaw and now presented with a new introduction, this volume reveals the moral imagination, poetic symbolism, and mythic depth that characterize Slavic storytelling. Echoing the spirit of collectors such as the Brothers Grimm, yet distinct in tone and worldview, these stories speak of fate, justice, transformation, and enduring hope.The cover image, La Proph矇tesse Libuse (1893) by Karel V穩tězslav Masek, evokes the legendary Czech prophetess Libuse and reflects the Romantic rediscovery of national myth that inspired Erben's work.An indispensable volume for lovers of folklore, mythology, and the cultural history of Central and Eastern Europe.
Nocturnes and Saudade
nocturne (noun) (Middle English): of the nightsaudade (noun) (Portuguese): indolent dreaming wistfulnessBorn from years of treasured memories of people, places, deaths, disappointments, and heartaches, Nocturnes and Saudade encapsulates the indescribable state of longing that humanizes us during the worst of times and binds us together during quiet moments of remembrance. By "offering a vocabulary for [her] wounds" and "creating story out of brokenness," debut author Lauren Griffin begins to rework the lessons of her personal narrative, exemplifying how the storms of our hearts-when brought to light through poetry-can provide both understanding and healing to ourselves and others.
A Chapbook For Hilde
These poems briefly encapsulate a remarkable woman's life well lived. In 1960 Hilde Baughman married an American soldier stationed in her Bavarian hometown, Bamberg, Germany. A year later she became a fashion model in San Francisco. Two years after that she began a long life in southern Oregon, and she soon learned to love wildlife and untamed country. The Nature Conservancy honored her with a Certificate of Recognition. She became the cornerstone of an extended family, and in recent years courageously fought two bouts with cancer. Summing a central theme up, as John Muir aptly put it: nature became her manifestation of God.
Letters to the Unseen
Letters to the Unseen: Whispers of a Soul is a sacred collection of 33 poems and soul letters born from a deep spiritual awakening. Through the lens of love, longing, grief, and divine remembrance, the author offers a window into the hidden dimensions of the heart - where connected souls call across lifetimes, and the unseen becomes a guiding force.Structured through the vibrational power of 3, 6, and 9, the book flows through three chapters - Genesis, Resonance, and Ascension - inviting the reader on a transformative journey of self-discovery, healing, and cosmic connection. Every each 3 poems there is a hand-drawn black line illustration, crafted to echo the quiet beauty of emotional depth.More than a poetry book, this is a spiritual offering - a soft invocation for those who feel deeply, walk unseen paths, and seek the echo of their soul in the silence.
Boys Behind Glass
Boys Behind Glass is a cheeky documentary of contemporary masculinity through the lens of matchmaking, pop culture, scientific "progress" and female gaze. This third collection from Jennifer Sperry Steinorth continues a trajectory of genre-bending poetry, this time in collaboration with artist Jenny Walton, whose documentary series Match/Enemy creates a visual algorithm of her experience on OKCupid and explores how men-seeking-women represent themselves via anonymity. In the first half of the book, watercolor portraits of single men are paired with irreverent "sonnets" gazing into the mind of a fictional woman looking at the men, looking for love. The second half is a maximalist kaleidoscope, masquerading as elaborate end notes, a diagnostic of loneliness through a wiki-esque labyrinth of technology and iconography. The culmination is a carousal of sex, selfies, heroes, and techies, what we long for & the many ways we hide.
Soft And Gentle 15
'Soft And Gentle 15 ---A Remembered Prose' is a rare, hybrid blend of prose poetry, mini-story, and elegant, enchanting words expressed with heartfelt, captivating imagery and symbolism. It vividly depicts representations of emotions that everyone typically experiences at some time in their life. The writings carry mesmerizing descriptions which effectively transport the reader right alongside the author, seeing and feeling the sentiment of his writing.Most spend their younger adult years establishing careers and starting a family. Often, the passions most precious to them in their youth get lost in adulthood due to time restrictions and obligations. As time goes on and life gets even busier, it is easy to lose track of the more important things. We should always save time for family, dreams, and nature, all of which can significantly contribute to happiness.Author James A. Hunter fills his prose with selective, heavy-hitting impressions which beautifully portray that which many of us experience at various times in our life. 'Soft And Gentle 15' will deeply touch those relating to the happiness of love or the sadness of losing love or loved ones; it will move readers through vivid descriptions to understand the beauty of nature and want to explore it themselves; it will motivate those aspiring to enhance their life through their own positive efforts; and it will inspire those adamant about pursuing their dreams to treat life's challenges merely as temporary, surmountable obstacles.This versatile, heartfelt collection of 200 pieces of concise prose poetry will relax and mellow the heart as it explores life, love, beauty, nature, happiness, hardships, dreams, and nostalgic memories. This work is a timeless treasure of observations which uniquely capture the soft and gentle aspects of life, just like the 14 prior books in this wholesome series.
Rosa Mundi
Original poems by Mary Ann McFadden, Poet Laureate of Ventura County, California. Part of the California Poets Series. Mary Ann McFadden is extraordinary, a master of words and artifice from whom to study and learn. If the reader is looking for insights into the state of human affairs after these sev-eral thousand years, it is here. If the reader is looking for ways webs of blood weave families across generations, it is here. If the reader is looking for confirmation that lives are complicated, that love, though necessary, is elusive and definitions hard to pin down, it is here. If the reader is looking for affirmation of their feelings of foreboding about the slide of the natural and political worlds, it is here. If the reader is looking for proof of the will to go on against soaring odds, it is here. And if the reader is looking for expression of all of this in an original, stunning, memorable language, that magic is here also. The poems in Rosa Mundi encompass the essence of how great language strikes the visceral human core.-David Oliveira, author of Still Life With Coffee (Brandenburg Press)I find these poems blessing and sustenance. They locate, they praise the Rose of the World that unfurls in this life, in this broken and breathtaking world that we have inherited and that we go on making. "Tell me, Love" Mary Ann McFadden writes, "where is the source of what's best in us?" Her poems know how to an-swer. I prize McFadden's bracing voice, clear eye, humor, passion, humanity. I love the way she puts a poem together, Rosa Mundi is luminous.-Lisa Coffman, author of Likely (Kent State University Press)
Summer's Love Lyrics
Summer's Love Lyrics is inspired by Adelaide Crapsey's Cinquain from her celebrated collection Verse, yet it takes a bold step away from tradition, venturing into new and uncharted terrain with modern reinterpretations.Each poem echoes the five-line essence of the cinquain, but with a unique twist-lines 1, 3, and 5 are expansive and expressive, while lines 2 and 4 remain concise, creating a rhythm that is both lyrical and contemplative, balancing brevity and depth. What makes this collection distinctive is its reversibility. The verses can be read from top to bottom, or bottom to top-each direction revealing meanings that are at once parallel and contrasting. This interplay invites the reader to pause, reflect and explore love's shifting shades and derive personal interpretations that feel both intimate and universal. The poems unfold as a seasonal metaphor: summer stands as the silent observer- chronicling the blossoming of everlasting affection. Yet, beyond the cycles of beginning and ending, one truth endures: the strength of true love, unyielding and eternal. Summer's Love Lyrics is a journey of passion and reflection, an exploration of love's fleeting phases, and a revelation of its unwavering power that lingers forever in the human heart.
The Borough
The borough presents a poetic exploration of a seaside community shaped by shifting rhythms of labor, landscape, and human connection. The work opens with sweeping descriptions of the shoreline, using vivid imagery to highlight the contrast between the calm of the countryside and the movement of a bustling port. Early reflections introduce a setting defined by the constant pull of the sea, where daily routines revolve around changing tides, hard work, and the uncertainties of maritime life. Through detailed observation, the narrative reveals how individuals navigate the demands of their environment, capturing the resilience, hopes, and quiet hardships that influence their days. The text blends depictions of working life with moments that reflect on social ties, revealing how shared experiences create a sense of community even amid struggle. As the poem unfolds, it draws attention to the varied paths and inner lives of the town's inhabitants, offering insight into their ambitions, disappointments, and connection to the landscape. This opening establishes a richly textured foundation for understanding the broader world of the borough.
The Complete Poetical Works Of Percy Bysshe Shelley
The complete poetical works of Percy Bysshe Shelley Volume 2 an extensive compilation of the poet's lyrical and visionary writing, bringing together his celebrated poems and lesser-known fragments. Edited with care to preserve the integrity of the originals, this volume highlights the richness of Shelley's imagination and his profound engagement with subjects such as nature, idealism, love, and the pursuit of freedom. The collection reveals his passion for justice and his enduring belief in the power of poetry to inspire moral and social transformation. Through vivid imagery and emotional intensity, Shelley's verses transcend personal expression, inviting reflection on human aspiration and the struggle against oppression. The editor's thoughtful introduction situates these works within a broader literary and historical context, enhancing the reader's understanding of Shelley's poetic evolution. This edition serves not only as a tribute to Shelley's genius but also as an exploration of art's ability to challenge convention and awaken the human spirit to truth and beauty.
Supplemental Nights To The Book Of The Thousand And One Nights Volume 3
Supplemental nights to the book of the thousand and one nights Volume 3 continues the enduring tradition of layered storytelling through a sequence of folktales that blend wonder, moral reflection, and the quiet power of narrative to reshape fate. This volume reintroduces the familiar frame of a storyteller who delays danger through captivating tales, creating a space where imagination becomes both protection and persuasion. The opening recounts the struggles within a royal household as questions of inheritance and responsibility give rise to conflict, allowing the narrative to examine ambition, rivalry, and the search for wisdom in times of uncertainty. These stories unfold within a broader reflection on the cultural legacy of earlier translations and the historical journeys that carried these tales across regions and generations. Each narrative moves between magical encounters, worldly dilemmas, and contemplations of justice, forming an intricate tapestry that highlights the depth and versatility of traditional oral storytelling. As the storyteller prepares new tales for the next dawn, the volume reinforces the timeless pull of anticipation and wonder.
The Complete Poetical Works Of Percy Bysshe Shelley
The complete poetical works of Percy Bysshe Shelley Volume 1 an extensive compilation of the poet's lyrical and visionary writing, bringing together his celebrated poems and lesser-known fragments. Edited with care to preserve the integrity of the originals, this volume highlights the richness of Shelley's imagination and his profound engagement with subjects such as nature, idealism, love, and the pursuit of freedom. The collection reveals his passion for justice and his enduring belief in the power of poetry to inspire moral and social transformation. Through vivid imagery and emotional intensity, Shelley's verses transcend personal expression, inviting reflection on human aspiration and the struggle against oppression. The editor's thoughtful introduction situates these works within a broader literary and historical context, enhancing the reader's understanding of Shelley's poetic evolution. This edition serves not only as a tribute to Shelley's genius but also as an exploration of art's ability to challenge convention and awaken the human spirit to truth and beauty.
Supplemental Nights To The Book Of The Thousand And One Nights Volume 4
Supplemental nights to the book of the thousand and one nights Volume 4 presents a vivid collection of interconnected tales that blend wonder, moral reflection, and the shifting boundaries between justice and desire. This volume opens with a ruler weighed down by inner turmoil who seeks relief through the power of narrative, allowing the work to highlight storytelling as a force capable of easing sorrow and revealing hidden truths. As the stories unfold, figures from varied walks of life encounter enchantment, deception, sudden fortune, and irreversible consequence, creating a layered exploration of human longing and frailty. A wandering beggar's past missteps illustrate how ambition can lead to downfall, while other narratives expose the unsettling nature of cruelty and misguided trust. Throughout, the collection captures the emotional complexity of individuals caught between fate and choice, offering a tapestry of dramatic encounters shaped by wonder, conflict, and the search for meaning. This volume maintains the enduring appeal of these celebrated tales through its blend of moral insight and imaginative storytelling.
A Crown of Sunlit Things
What if life didn't have to feel like survival? What if love was steady? What if joy was allowed? What if we chose warmth over the hustle? A Crown Of Sunlit Things was born from golden evenings, quiet streets, countryside paths, and these nagging questions.Written while wandering through castles, ruins, and her lover's hometown, her collection lives at the intersection of fairytale longing and real emotional growth. Blending dreamy imagery with modern vulnerability, this collection explores what happens after survival-when love is no longer something to endure, but something safe enough to rest inside of. These poems celebrate tenderness, devotion, partnership, and the kind of romance built on warmth rather than chaos.Inside, you'll find: Soft, steady love instead of dramatic highs and lowsEuropean-inspired imagery: castles, cobblestone streets, wildflower fields, golden lightHealing after heartbreak, trauma, and emotional exhaustionSensuality & Intimacy written with warmth, reverence, and emotional depthDomestic intimacy woven with fairytale wonderDreaming of a slower, softer life built on presence, not pressureHappiness & HopeWritten during a season of travel and romantic daydreaming, A Crown Of Sunlit Things captures the moment you realize you are allowed to build a life that feels beautiful-not just productive.This is poetry for romantics tired of the grind.For readers who love fairytale-inspired aesthetics, and emotionally honest reflections on love, healing, and desire.For anyone craving emotional safety and softness.For anyone who is learning that gentleness is not weakness.You survived, now you get to live.
The Tale of the Peahen, the Tortoise and the Hangman's Voice
The Tale of the Peahen, the Tortoise, and the Hangman's Voice is a novella in verse. At the center of what begins as a quirky love story is the mysterious peahen who cherishes her freedom and means to keep it, whatever the cost. Though interspersed with sly humor, Kaganof takes the lives of his anthropomorphic characters seriously, depicting their emotional highs and lows in a language that is very human.
Song of Six Rivers
Song of Six Rivers relates one man's life-changing experiences throughout the Humboldt Bay region of northern California, depicting the area's geography and history along the way, through both poetry and archival photography. When the muse of this epic poem, Guy Kuttner, died unexpectedly, Zev Levinson heard his voice imploring him to sing of the land they both love. As a roving teacher of poetry in the schools, often staying in far-flung places, Zev had come to know the Six Rivers terrain and communities intimately. He put his pen to the task of meeting Guy's daunting challenge, confronting mortality and loss as he ventured to understand our connection to earth. At its heart, this endeavor strives to weave poetry into the everyday lives of those who dwell behind the redwood curtain.
Yorkshire Dialect Poems (1673-1915) And Traditional Poems
Yorkshire dialect poems (1673-1915) and traditional poems offers a wide-ranging look at the linguistic and cultural identity of Yorkshire through poetry that reflects everyday experiences, rural life, and regional expression. Instead of centering on specific figures, the collection highlights the collective voice of a community whose speech, traditions, and humor shape a distinctive literary legacy. The opening materials outline the historical development of dialect writing and emphasize the value of preserving authentic language as both a cultural artifact and a form of artistic expression. The poems gathered here span different periods and styles, demonstrating how local speech conveys emotion, storytelling, and social observation with clarity and charm. Early selections introduce readers to vivid exchanges rooted in ordinary life, setting the stage for a broader exploration of work, family, landscape, and shared memory. Throughout the collection, the use of regional language becomes a lens through which belonging, continuity, and identity emerge, inviting readers to appreciate how poetry can safeguard the character of a place.
Theocritus, Bion And Moschus, Rendered Into English Prose
Theocritus, Bion and Moschus: Rendered into English prose is a collection that unites the works of three classical poets whose writings celebrate the harmony between humanity and nature. The prose rendering captures the essence of pastoral life through vivid depictions of the countryside, emphasizing the beauty of simplicity and the emotional depth found in rural existence. The text reflects an enduring fascination with love, loss, and the natural world, where the landscapes of Sicily and other southern regions serve as a timeless backdrop. The narrative explores the poets' reflections on solitude, artistic expression, and the cyclical rhythm of life. Through a lyrical yet accessible translation, the collection conveys the spiritual and emotional resonance of pastoral poetry, illustrating how ancient voices continue to speak to the universal connection between people and the land. This work stands as a bridge between ancient Greek tradition and modern sensibility, offering a contemplative journey through poetry's origins and its enduring power to evoke emotion and beauty.
Notes To The Complete Poetical Works Of Percy Bysshe Shelley
Notes to the complete poetical works of Percy Bysshe Shelley is a reflective and insightful commentary that explores the depth and evolution of one of English literature's most visionary poets. The work serves as both an introduction and a companion to his poetry, offering interpretations that bridge his artistic expression with the moral and emotional convictions that shaped it. Through thoughtful analysis, the text reveals the intensity of creative imagination, the longing for idealism, and the deep empathy that permeates his verses. It highlights how his reflections on nature, human suffering, and the pursuit of truth intertwined to form a poetic philosophy centered on beauty and justice. The narrative further emphasizes the personal and intellectual challenges that influenced his artistic voice, allowing readers to understand his poetry as an extension of his character and beliefs. This work stands as a heartfelt tribute, blending critical thought and emotional remembrance to preserve the enduring legacy of poetic genius.
