Gabriela Marie Milton has put together another wonderful anthology of poems, this time about childhood and how it influenced us as adults: our memories, values, experiences, character, and goals. I am lucky enough to have poetry included in the collection. Published by Literary Revelations Publishing House, the book will be available in late January.
Ciao!
Dawn Pisturino
January 13, 2023
Copyright 2023 Dawn Pisturino. All Rights Reserved.
A few months ago, I suddenly realized that I had not been to the local library since before the pandemic, so I dusted off my old library card and made a point of visiting. During the lockdown, the county remodeled the whole facility and expanded the number of books available. They did a fantastic job! I was very impressed with the results and enjoyed browsing the shelves for a few good mystery books — and it didn’t cost me a dime.
When digital publishing became popular, people predicted the demise of public libraries. While bookstores in general have been profoundly affected, local libraries seem to have thrived. And, thank goodness for that! Libraries offer so much more than just checking out books.
I still remember Mrs. Brown from my childhood days, the chubby little librarian with stern eyes and short grey hair, who presided over our tiny branch of the county library. We lived out in the country then, and I used to ride my bike several miles to check out books. Whenever I chose something she didn’t approve of (I was an advanced reader and liked to check out the latest New York Times best-sellers), she would ask me: “Did your parents give you permission to read that?” Now, my parents didn’t care what I read, but I always told her “yes,” and that was the end of the conversation. I still remember her looking at me with grave doubts when I checked out The Collector by John Fowles (which is still a good book and a great movie, by the way).
One of the most famous scenes from musical theater is “Marian the Librarian” from The Music Man – a musical that will put you into a joyous and inspired mood like nothing else. The movie (1962), starring Shirley Jones, is delightful!
Have a great day!
Dawn Pisturino
January 6, 2023
Copyright 2023 Dawn Pisturino. All Rights Reserved.
I’m pleased and honored to announce that my poetry has been accepted for inclusion in the upcoming anthology, Hidden in Childhood, edited by the wonderfully gifted Gabriela Marie Milton, and published by Literary Revelations Publishing House. The anthology will be released in late January 2023. Submissions will remain open until January 3, 2023.
Thank you so much for including me!
Dawn Pisturino
December 22, 2022
Copyright 2022 Dawn Pisturino. All Rights Reserved.
Co-author, 2023 Arizona Literary Magazine (Arizona Authors Association)
Co-author, #1 Amazon Best-seller, Wounds I Healed: Poetry of Strong Women (edited by Gabriela Marie Milton)
(Photo by Vigneshwar Rajkumar on Unsplash)
Today, I want to shine the spotlight on Aparna Jagannath, a dear WordPress friend who lives in Chennai, India. Her passion for reading and writing is unsurpassed. She is a prolific reader with an M.A. in English Literature. She possesses impressive knowledge about writers from various cultures. She also writes wonderful poems and stories that will knock your socks off with their profound wisdom, wicked humor, and keen insight into the human condition. She does not mince words but gets right to the heart of the matter. Aparna is also a strong advocate for women’s rights in India and around the world. Right now, two of her books are available on Amazon.com:
This collection of stories offers valuable life lessons for children and teenagers alike. Aparna covers many topics: cheating on exams, rude behavior towards family, making healthy decisions, coping with harmful friends, bullying, indifference to school, kindness to animals, and others. My favorite story is “Trapped inside a Smartphone” because it is clever, well-written, and thought-provoking. If your child enjoys reading books about other countries and cultures, he or she will find this book highly enjoyable.
Excerpt:
“A maze of wires surrounded him from all the sides. He was lying beside a giant motherboard. The place was air-conditioned. He almost started shivering. He looked around for his family, but couldn’t spot anyone. ‘Can you hear me, mom? Where are you, daddy?’ he screamed his lungs out, panicking. . .”
Aparna writes from the heart in this fine collection of poems. With honesty and openness, she speaks about the loss of friends, her father, and honor and compassion in the world. She fiercely advocates for herself, her daughter, and all women around the world in their struggle for freedom, dignity, and respect. Her hopes and dreams form the foundation of her writing. In spite of the crushing injustices she sees around her, she conveys a spirit of hope that the world can be a better place.
“Is it my dream? Are you really visible to my eyes?
Thirty long years have passed since we met each other.
Now we are chatting over a video call.
What a wonderful surprise! . . .”
~
“Why should women observe silence?
Why shouldn’t they raise voice against domestic violence?
Why should they submit to male chauvinism?
Why shouldn’t they protect their feminism? . . .”
~
“I thank you, Mother Nature, for supporting all forms of life.
You tolerate our misdeeds with a smile while we are busy with the knife.
I thank you, Mother Earth, for enabling us to live.
We have hurt you in many ways; yet, you always forgive . . .”
~
“Let’s tread carefully on this dangerous path of life forever.
These roads are sometimes narrow and slippery.
Let’s try not to lose our balance to their treachery . . .”
~
You can visit Aparna at her WordPress blog here.
Dawn Pisturino
December 19, 2022
Copyright 2022 Aparna Jagannath. All Rights Reserved.
Copyright 2022 Dawn Pisturino. All Rights Reserved.
(Photo by Tyler Nix on Unsplash)
Milkshakes and Chilidogs and Other Food Poems by Bartholomew Barker (2017).
Available on Amazon.com.
Bartholomew is one of the organizers of Living Poetry in North Carolina. Since he is also a food and wine aficionado, it is not surprising that he wrote a poetry book about food. What surprised me is what a great little book it is! His poems are witty, analytical, and chock full of delightful morsels about dining and the things we consume. You will not find any anorexic rejection of edibles here. Bartholomew is absolutely shameless in his love of food. And that’s what makes this book such a wonderful read and a delicious gift for other food-a-holics.
“Cold long nights
are best spent cuddled
with macaroni and cheese.”
Who can argue with that?
“Tomatoes
Firm as your breasts
Red as your lips
On a night out
Drenched in Merlot.”
Believe me, I will never look at tomatoes in the same way again! And finally –
“I want to die fat and happy
I want to meet my chiligod
With a milkshake in my hand.”
I know a lot of chili lovers who would agree with that!
Website: Bartholomew Barker, Poet
The Salty River Bleeds by Stephen Page (2019). Available on Amazon.com.
Stephen Page is an award-winning author whose work has appeared in numerous publications. In this unique collection, he uses poetry and poetic prose to create a realistic portrait of life on an Argentinian ranch. The ranch, its owners, and caretakers, are all fictitious; but Stephen writes with authenticity and conviction. For him, the story is real, from the ambivalent feelings of the owner about leaving the city and isolating out in the countryside; to the lazy, conniving employees; to dealing with bad hombres like cattle rustlers and horse thieves; to birthing calves, riding horses, and watching the crops grow. He expresses concerns about rain and drought; the effects of pesticides on the land; the annoying insects; mechanical issues; and constant repairs on the ranch. The owner’s frustration comes through loud and clear. Life is difficult. But it’s the raw beauty of nature that keeps him going. He has his family to provide for and a loving wife to lean on. In the end, the struggles seem to be all worthwhile.
Stephen’s style is eloquent and simple:
“The tree frogs called the rain last night,
but the rain did not answer.
The intermittent croaking, about
every hour or so, was followed by
a gust of wind and the scent
of water, but no sprinkle, no pour.”
~
“When I am in the city,
I remember why I escape
To the ranch. When I am
On the ranch, I remember why
I want to live in the city.”
Website: Stephen Page
Dawn Pisturino
November 22, 2022
Copyright 2022 Dawn Pisturino. All Rights Reserved.
(Photo by Arash Asghari on Unsplash)
Monochrome: Poetry from the Ashes by Paula Light (2018). Available on Amazon.com.
Paula is a California poet whose poetry collection is a delight to read. She writes with a gentle hand. Her poems are like butterflies which attract us with rich colors, feather-weight movements, velvety textures, and delicate wings. She explores the nature of love, loss, sadness, and acceptance with profound understanding and peace. At the same time, she has a sharp wit and approaches life with humor and positivity. When you read her WordPress blog, you will experience both sides of this very talented woman.
“Immersed in words,
Steamed in verse,
Lovesongs burning up my dreams . . .
It must be true:
I still hold
A torch for you . . .”
And from her poem, Grace:
“The night sky knows my sorrow:
An ice wind screams your name,
While thunder booms in horror
And lightning damns this place.
Then softly comes the music;
Gently falls the rainsong;
Rhythms drip down smoothly,
And the moon is bathed in grace.”
Website: Light Motifs
Let’s Talk Bride: A Poetry Collection by Lamittan Minsah (2020). Available on Amazon.com.
Lamittan is a Kenyan poet who has written a collection of poems about a very special person in his life, Apostle Darlan Rukih, also known as the Bride of the Lamb, a minister in the Bride of the Lamb Ministries International.
This book has a fascinating backstory. Darlan Rukih was born a hermaphrodite (someone who is born with both male and female genitalia and characteristics, also known as an intersex person). Since this condition is not accepted in Kenyan culture, Rukih grew up isolated, alienated, and rejected by others. But faith in God and the Lord Jesus Christ helped Rukih to overcome this disability and to serve by helping others. Rukih first married a woman and was blessed with a son. After that relationship failed, Rukih dated a man and got pregnant. Blessed with two children, Rukih is devoted to helping children in need in Kenya. Reference: Mpasho website.
Lamittan’s admiration for the Bride of the Lamb knows no bounds in this fine collection of poems which praise Rukih, God, and His son, Jesus Christ. Lamittan expresses both his joy and his sorrow in these poems:
“There’s beauty walking in Africa,
Traversing a lonely desert –
A damsel formed by the maker
Out of the ribs of Adam, long ago.
There is beauty
Such as one that never was before.”
~
“They nailed our Lord by force.
The heavens roared,
His pain had reached God,
And for a moment,
Darkness covered the firmament
And hid God’s gaze from his son . . .”
Follow Lamittan Minsah on WordPress to read more of his poetry and stories and to learn more about Kenyan culture. His business site, Laminsa Indies, encourages and aids “budding writers, musicians, actors/actresses, self-publishers, photographers, drawing artists, dancers and many other talents from the creative industry.” Check it out!
Website: Laminsa Indies
~
Dawn Pisturino
November 21, 2022
Copyright 2022 Dawn Pisturino. All Rights Reserved.
(Photo by Sixteen Miles Out on Unsplash)
Woman: Splendor and Sorrow by Gabriela Marie Milton (2021). Available on Amazon.com.
I met Gabriela a year ago, when she was editor for MasticadoresUSA. Impressed by the quality of the poems and prose I read there, I began to submit poems – both old and new – for her consideration. Well, she published them! And I have been following her ever since. It was her kindness and encouragement which prompted me to start writing poetry again after a long hiatus. She inspires me to reach farther and try harder than ever before.
A Pushcart nominee. A #1 Best-Selling Author on Amazon. The 2019 Author of the Year at Spillwords Press. Gabriela has published two books of high caliber poetry, co-authored anthologies, and edited the recent Amazon Best-Seller, Wounds I Healed: The Poetry of Strong Women, which she published with Ingrid Wilson of Experiments in Fiction. She resides in a higher realm of imagination, pulling ideas and images out of the clouds that Wow! the reader and transport him/her to another world. She employs language that is lush, exotic, sensual, and stimulating to all five senses. She is her poetry. Her poetry is her. She pushes the boundaries of creativity and encourages others to do the same. She is poet, teacher, mother, friend, divine goddess of the poetic art form. Many of her themes revolve around the strength, resilience, and beauty of women. She adores children, the magic of childhood, and the blessings of motherhood. And then, there’s Love! — and the perpetual tango between two lovers.
Woman: Splendor and Sorrow is a testament to the hypnotic power of love and its ability to elevate us to the heights of ecstasy or fling us into the burning depths of Hell. Every word is exquisitely crafted:
“each word I write cries on the tunes of spring,
a spring that ends in graveyards and in dreams
the night I abandoned you on that bench and left
snows in my mind the syllable of hell
I wanted to return
I wanted to love you . . .”
Poetry and love are the divine twins that rule Gabriela’s heart:
“Poetry?
Oh, poetry was too good to be read.
We tasted it and ate it with silver spoons.”
Gabriela runs her own publishing house now, Literary Revelations Publishing, which seeks to publish high-quality poetry and fiction that grab the reader unawares and trample down the boundaries of creativity.
Websites: Short Prose
Literary Revelations Publishing
~
Dawn Pisturino
November 20, 2022
Copyright 2022 Dawn Pisturino. All Rights Reserved.
(Photo by Hayley Maxwell on Unsplash)
Three-Penny Memories: A Poetic Memoir by Barbara Harris Leonhard (2022).
Available on Amazon.com.
Barbara is a retired English teacher (ESL) whose award-winning work has appeared on Spillwords, MasticadoresUSA, and other poetry sites and magazines. Most recently, her poetry appeared in Wounds I Healed: The Poetry of Strong Women (2022), edited by Gabriela Marie Milton, and a #1 Amazon Bestseller. She currently serves as the editor of MasticadoresUSA.
Penned with heart-felt love, devotion, and pain, this memoir is an honest family portrait that mirrors both the mother and the daughter. The bond between mother and daughter is complex, but Barbara beautifully describes both the comfortable and uncomfortable sides of this relationship. Anybody who has cared for a parent suffering from Alzheimer’s, will relate to Barbara’s experience. Anybody who has missed out on motherhood and lost a child, will find Barbara’s story deeply moving. But there is no self-pity here. She has written about her life with honesty and compassion. She has experienced trauma and heartbreak. But she accepts what life brings and looks hopefully to the future instead of staying shackled to the past. She presents herself as strong, determined, and willing to learn from life’s lessons. She has written a remarkable collection of poems that are powerful in their very simplicity. Whatever trauma and pain you have endured, her poems will edify and uplift you in a positive way. YOU ARE NOT ALONE!
In writing about her miscarried child, she says:
“You left my broken womb
as the bloody remains of what
was never to come. I still feel you
in the waves, the flow
of my sacral river – your tears?
Your fears I’ve abandoned you?
No, Honey. No! I’ll never forget you.”
Finally, her experiences with encephalitis and her mother’s Alzheimer’s:
“Not enough that I am
the spitting image of Mom
and her namesake.
We both experienced
a brain injury. The encephalitis
burned away my young memories;
Alzheimer’s, her short-term ones.”
Barbara has been nominated for a Pushcart award for her poem, Mom and I Play Lassos with Our Hysterectomy Scars, a deeply provocative and sensitive poem which is included in this collection.
Website: Extraordinary Sunshine Weaver
Lost in the Hours: A Poetry Collection by River Dixon (2020). Available on Amazon.com.
River is a multi-talented poet, fiction writer, and publisher at Potter’s Grove Press. His fiction leans toward the dark side. But his poetry is honest, raw, straight-shooting, and direct. The first thing you come to realize when you read his poems is that River is a realist, not an idealist. There are few hearts and flowers here. He writes with power, intelligence, profound understanding, and articulate expression. He shares a healthy cynicism about life and the world in general. I like his poetry because he says what many of us are only thinking. He’s not afraid to criticize the status quo:
“While you drown in a shallow pool
Of only three inches of self-worth
They taught you well
How to hold your own head under
And convince you of rainbows
While they blot out the stars
One by one . . .”
His works are also available from Potter’s Grove Press, along with other avant-garde authors.
Websites: The Stories In-Between
~
Dawn Pisturino
November 19, 2022
Copyright 2022 Dawn Pisturino. All Rights Reserved.
(Photo by John Jennings on Unsplash)
We are Poetry: Lessons I Didn’t Learn in a Textbook by Kym Gordon Moore (2022).
Available on Amazon.com.
I’ve known Kym for about a year now and regularly follow her blog on WordPress. Although we don’t always agree, I’ve always found her to be intelligent, funny, well-educated, and articulate. And, she’s fierce! Whatever causes she embraces, she puts her whole heart and soul into them.
In her latest book, Kym provides a general overview of poetry and her vision for the future of poetry as an art form, a therapeutic tool, and an educational medium. She views poetry as a living, breathing thing that can transform the poet, the community, the country, and even the world. Poetry should be as rich, colorful, and diverse as life itself.
Her book is almost a textbook on creating poetry and would be a useful tool in the classroom. She introduces the concept of ArchiPoetry, which employs architectural ideas to design and perfect poetic creations. As she writes: “By combining the use of language, imagery, metaphors, and specific patterns, the design elements in ArchiPoetry have different disciplines and poetic variations.”
While journaling has been an accepted therapeutic tool for a while in mental health, Kym developed the concept of TheraPoetry, a process through which people can find emotional relief by expressing themselves with poetry. Kym speaks from experience. After the death of her mother, it was poetry – and writing poetry – which helped her through the grieving process.
Illiteracy is an issue about which Kym is very passionate; and she wants to use poetry as a medium to teach our children how to read and improve their reading comprehension skills. We all remember rhymes that we learned as children. Those rhymes stick in our heads as rhythmical pieces of our childhood, bring back fond memories, and encourage us to pass them on to the next generation.
Poetry is creativity, mental gymnastics, lyrical composition, and inner fantasy. Poetry is emotional release, mental growth, and spiritual expression. This is why Kym championed the cause of poetry in 2014 when she persuaded mayors all across North Carolina to submit proclamations officially recognizing April as National Poetry Month. Kym also endorses and supports the Academy of American Poets as a valuable resource for educators and poets everywhere. As she says, “Poetry is a revival and reminder of our aspirations, possibilities, and achievements for all people.”
Finally, I close with Kym’s own summation of poetry:
“Poetry paints emotion
art is imagination and passion
poetry inspires art
expressionism through creativity is art and poetry
-transformation-
poetry and art is creativity through expressionism
art inspires poetry
passion and imagination is art
emotion paints poetry.”
Website: From Behind the Pen
Christmas Haiku by Patricia Furstenberg (2018). Available on Amazon.com.
Patricia is a Romanian poet living in South Africa. Her poetry appears regularly on MasticadoresRomania, Spillwords Press, and other poetry sites and literary magazines. With Christmas right around the corner, I was drawn to read her book of Christmas haiku. Charmed by the simplicity of her verses and photos, I sincerely recommend this little chapbook as the perfect way to get into the candy-gingerbread-tinsel-lights holiday mood! Patricia has written numerous books for adults and children, which are all available on Amazon. So, grab a steaming cup of hot chocolate and enjoy!
“Christmas, snow, giggles,
Young and old around the tree.
Scent of fresh cookies.”
Website: Patricia Furstenberg, Author
(Photo from Spillwords)
I’m pleased and honored to announce that my poem, The Girl on the Bus, has been published today on Spillwords. I want to thank Dagmara K. and the staff at Spillwords for publishing it. Please visit Spillwords and show them your support. Thanks!
The Girl on the Bus
by Dawn Pisturino
The bus driver watched you in the mirror,
His eyes wide with fear,
When you stood up in the middle of the bus,
Crying like a terrified child.
Passengers waited with bated breath,
Wondering what you would do.
The sharpness of your pain . . .
Please visit Spillwords here to read the rest. Thank you so much!
Have a beautiful day!
Dawn Pisturino
November 17, 2022
Copyright 2022 Dawn Pisturino. All Rights Reserved.
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