Poetry Books

When I read the selection, "All I have is Rain," it stirred me so that I had to have it open my novel. She agreed without hesitation. It was as if she had read my manuscript. She hadn't. That poem spoke to my protagonist's heart and soul.

Bridgette Alyce has a touch that you cannot forget long after you've read her words. She is a poet extraordinaire. I rate this book 5 stars.

...Poetry does more than stir one's soul. Good poetry provokes multi-level thinking and excellent poetry ties those thoughts in with the spiritual, emotional, sociological, and other aspects of a person's essence. Author Bridgette Alyce Greathouse Wynn has composed a book brimming with excellent poetry. COME, JOY! SONGS FROM THE SOFT OF NIGHT speaks tenderly of love gained, musically of loved ones, joyfully of spiritual journeys, and appreciatively of nature observed. I enjoyed reading almost every poem in this timeless collection.

It is impossible for me to choose a favorite poem from COME, JOY!, but every time I read "Cover Me" on page 53, I thoroughly enjoy it. Musical allusions and a melodic rhythm magnify the already intense diction of the poem. It is deep on many levels, and you can't help but let your mind dance with the poem. All manner of images surface in my mind when I read it, and I love the smoothly abrupt way that it coasts to an end, like a dip at the end of a tango.

Author Wynn shows readers throughout the book that she is a skilled poet, experimenting with various styles and techniques and manipulating the English language for optimality. She begins and ends the composition with very fitting haikus while indulging in vivid descriptions on everything in between. Most all of the poems in the Songs of Love section and the Songs of Nature section impressed me, even though every section in this book is more than worth readers' time and close attention.

I love how Wynn makes me think, stirs the embers of my own poetic fire, and makes me want to dig deeper into her poetry. They're full - of life, sounds, emotions, and journeys. I want to analyze them and extract any and every meaning possible. She inspires me to read more, write more, and study more. Simply put, COME, JOY is poetry at its best.

Reviewed by Natasha T.
of The RAWSISTAZ™ Reviewers

In "Come, Joy! Songs from the Soft of the Night" Bridgette Alyce bears her soul in poetic serenades of love, loved ones, nature, and spirit.

The rhythm of the prose and the balance of emotion makes Alyce a true psalmist. The poems are honest and meaningful. "Come, Joy!" is book of inspiration worthy to be on the bookshelves of everyone breathing. She shows that dark times don't have to be filled with fear and turmoil. When the world sleeps through the night you can find solace in the softness of the voice that speaks from within.

Makasha Dorsey, Reviewer
Atlanta, GA

This work is definitely a book you must read over and over. I have several favorites, including, "Meditation", "My Love is a Song", and all the ones describing the author's great love for family and special frienships. The title piece in the final chapter on the spiritual relationship with the Creator, is also a favorite, and Ms. Wynn's earnest invocation of the Spirit throughout is evidence of the connection she desires to make and maintain in sharing the gift she's been blessed with. The poems in the collection minister to the soul in different ways, encouraging and instructing, edifying and uplifting and especially in the soft of my own nights, these poem confirm what the heart has always known. There is joy in the morning. A must read for people who enjoy good literature that speaks to the heart.

Poetry is such a deeply personal genre. It very often opens the hearts, minds, and wounds of a poet allowing their heartbeats, thoughts and blood drain on to the pages. Sometimes the poet is effective in touching individuals; giving words to those who had none to express. Bridgette Alyce is one of those in her book of poetry, Come, Joy!

Ms. Alyce is truly gifted with words. Her ability to paint an abstract print in some of her work stands strong beside the simplicity that she captures in others. The foreword of her book, presented in a poem, proved to be one of my favorites with vivid imagery of renewed sense of self. The only bothersome thing I found in the collection of Come, Joy! was the intensely personal poems that were written for specific people. These selections, (mostly found in the section "Songs of Loved Ones") which speak to an individual or particular situation, forced a wall of disconnection for this reader. While again the beauty of words existed I could only empathize when I would have liked to sympathize with the emotions shared. However, pieces like "Anytime", "2 a. m. (muse)", and "Forgiveness"captured true moments for this reader.

While not all the poetry spoke to me on a personal level, I have a great respect for Ms. Alyce's gift with words and gift to the genre. I look forward to reading more.


Kotanya
APOOO BookClub

I've had this book for about three years, and given it as a gift numerous times to my women friends, because it's the perfect companion in any mood and for any occasion. Marilyn Sewell has collected a broad spectrum of poetry from women, both famous poets and not-so-famous, and collected the entries into categories that make it simple to find a reading for just about any occasion or ceremony. There are wise words here, beautifully presented. Bring this book back into print! Buy it! Have it on hand as an instant resource, along with the collections by Elizabeth Roberts and Elias Amidon ("Earth Prayers," "Life Prayers," "Prayers for a Thousand Years") for all those occasions when you need the exact right perfect reading for an important moment.

This volume is shaped around intuitive explorations of women's spiritual journey: "Owning Self," "The Imperative of Intimacy, "Mothering," "Generations," "Sacredness in the Ordinary," "Images of the Divine." Though my 18-year-old daughter and I have come to perceive ourselves as women very differently, this is a volume we both have come to love. I wouldn't think of sending her off to college without her own copy!

Marilyn Sewell's work on "Cries of the Spirit" was more than worth the price and I have wanted to thank her over and over. A death in the family and I grab her book to find the right words, a marriage and there she is again, providing a womans point of view from a variety of woman that I have found extremely useful. No matter the occassion, a new baby in the family for instance, and flip of the pages and Marilyn found one more woman who said what I want to say beautifully. Not to mention the times I sit alone, staring at the bay and use the poetry for inspiration for myself. "Cries of the Spirit" (and laughter I might add) is a worth while find!

A truly rich and diverse sourcebook of poetry and prose which defines women through our writings. The book is an anthology of more than 300 poems and several of prose pieces by such authors as: Annie Dillard, Denise Levertov, Maya Angelou, Alice Walker, Marge Piercy and earlier writers such as Hildegard von Bingen and Margaret Fuller. My favorite writings are from the hearts and minds of writers such as Joyce Carol Oates, "Growing Together," Margaret Atwood, "Five Poems For Grandmothers," Gwendolyn Brooks, "The Mother," and Annie Dillard "Holy the Firm". These writings offer visions of women from the ordinary to the eclectic. Marilyn Sewell, a Unitarian Universalist minister & doctoral candidate, offers an inciteful introduction to this book. I often dip into this book when seeking just the right poem to review or to remind myself how diverse the women's writing movement is. I give this book a huge FIVE stars. And I hope others will be able to enjoy this book as much as I have.

Was this helpful to you?

This is the only anthology of poetry that I have ever read cover to cover without putting it down. This book is comfort, a talk with your best girlfriends, encouragement, enlightenment and thought-provocation all between two covers. I would recommend it for any woman's private library and the libraries of her friends who love good words, moving images and beauty.

...The gist of it was this: Crow is one of the best books of poetry published in the last 50 years...

As an English major in 1973, one of my professors recommended this book of poetry. None of our textbooks contained any of Ted Hughes' work but I jotted his name and this title in the margin of one of my books. After graduating, I spent very little time reading or thinking about poetry. But I recently revived my interest in poetry, specifically after reading several biographies of Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes. I pulled out my old poetry textbooks, found this note and immediately ordered Crow to read it for myself.
What an experience. The work is fantastic - the images, the rhythm, the concept. Amazing, entertaining, and relevant.
I highly recommend this book.

A brilliant work! Honest, straightforward, raw and hardcore poems
that will knock your socks off. This is the only work I recommend reading by Hughes.

I first read this in the late 70's. The harshness, the brutality of it all was a punch in the stomach. An overturning of how i imagined poetry to be. Poetry because of this could belong to me too. It was a similar sensation to the crashing, nihilistic verve of early punk records. It will always remind me that poetry can be as powerful as a 3 minute, 3 chord record, and just as accessible. It did not have any of the cultural baggage of TS Eliot's Wasteland,for example, Which to a provincial boy stuck in a Comprehensive School, belonged to a diferent, musty world .

"Crow: From the Life and Songs of the Crow" is a collection of poems by Ted Hughes. The copyright page notes that the book was first published in 1972. This is a remarkable book that often reads like some apocryphal sacred text. The book is dominated by its title character, who is the focus of a significant number of the poems. Crow is a multifaceted character with mythic heft: he is a warrior, theologian, trickster, and partner with God in creation. He is both heroic and ridiculous, foolish and wise. He's a compelling and delightful character who ultimately transcends all cultures and historical eras.

The collection as a whole is whimsical, witty, apocalyptic, bold, revelatory, irreverent, visceral, horrific, and playful. At times, Hughes' poetic marriage of the earthy and the mystical reminded me of Walt Whitman. The book also calls to mind traditional Native American animal stories.

Many of the poems in "Crow" touch on the magic and power of words. The natural world is another key recurring motif. Hughes delivers some striking images and some interesting arrangements of words on the page--many poems really engage the eye. Many poems read like religious litanies. Overall, an impressive and enjoyable poetic achievement.

This book cannot be praised enough. Here you have the opportunity to read the early poems of one of the generation's best poets. As has been remarked by previous reviewers, there is an optimism in Kaminsky's poems even amidst tragedy; an unearthly eloquence and musicality to each and every line. It is an unbelievably refreshing tone.

You'll breeze through the book in no time and then realize that you can spend a day on every page. This is a book of transport - to another time, another country, in other bodies and minds - and what you will find there is a new mythos - cities of birds and song and silence all together. And there, on the bench reading a small book filled with beauty in the midst of cobblestones? Why it is you.

from the first encounter to the sixtieth, this book grabs and holds. It is a daring, beautiful debut and the kind of book that makes me invest in books of poetry, hopeful each time that they will yield the percentage of brilliance and beauty that this book does. Kaminsky reminds me why we write and why we read.

I highly recommend Ilya Kaminsky's first book. It is full of small beautiful lyric moments that rise across history. His love poems are simply beautiful. I can't agree more with those reviewers too who mention Kaminsky's style of reading. The poet Joe Weil once wrote "poetry has forgotten how to praise/ forgotten how to pray." Ilya Kaminsky has not forgotten either.

This is the best book of poetry I've read in years. I read it again and again.
I couldn't recommend it more.

John FitzGerald, author of Spring Water

I had the pleasure of hearing Ilya Kaminsky read his poetry from Dancing in Odessa the other day at my college. He came into the room and seemed a bit shy at first. Uncertain as to "what to do" he began to read from his book. A powerful and lyrical voice filled the room and everyone was glued to her/his seat listening. He not only writes wonderful, thought-provoking and dazzling poems but he reads with an energy unsurpassed. He uses his voice in incredible ways, incredible ranges and he employs his whole body in the experience. One gets the sense she is witness to something profound and passionate, spellbinding. Kaminsky's voice is strange, beautiful and musical.

One of the most famous - and infamous - letters in all of literature, De Profundis is a strange little piece of work: either much more than it appears on the surface, or much less. It is something I think everyone should read, if only for its insight into the human character, particularly that of one under great personal suffering. Wilde wrote this extraordinarily long letter from prison to Lord Alfred Douglas, his friend, lover, and the man who - by all accounts - was the reason Wilde was in jail in the first place. Despite repeated assertions in the first few pages alone to the contrary, Wilde seems reluctant to blame himself. He clearly blames Douglas to the hilt, and harbors a certain bitter resentment towards him. And yet... he clearly still hold much dear affection toward - and even loves - Douglas. He still seems to be asking for forgiveness - despite the fact that, by all accounts hardly excluding his own, he was the man wronged. It is quite clear from reading this letter that, desite the view history holds of him, Wilde was clearly a man of very high moral character. Certainly, one would not put Wilde atop a pedastal as the zenith of ethics - he himself says that morals contain "absolutely nothing" for him, and clearly admits - and is proud of - his having lived the high life to the hilt during his youth - but Wilde was a man of principles, and he stuck to those principles to the tragic, bitter end. Perhaps you might say he carried them too far. One gets the sense in reading this letter - or a biography of Wilde - that, not only could he have stopped his immiment imprisonment, but could have severed his ties with Douglas completely - had he wanted to. Apparently, he had his own utterly compelling reasons for not doing so. Whatever the case, Oscar Wilde is one of the most fundamentally and perpetually interesting characters in the whole of history. A self-described man of paradoxes - Wilde was subsequently the true essence of his time, while also being far ahead of his time - De Profundis makes for required reading by one of the most endlessly fascinating individuals you'll ever read about, and also provides a startling - indeed, perhaps too much so - insight into human nature.

De Profundis, though long for a letter, is not a long work in the conventional sense. Consequently, as many editions of Wilde's collected works are available, buying this on its own may be deemed questionable. I highly reccommend purchasing a Collected Works of Oscar if you have not done so already - it's well worth the price - but, should you desire to have more compact editions of specific works, an edition such as this will be privy to your needs.

This is a very moving account of a heartbroken man who was betrayed by a person he loved dearly. The pain, the trauma, the love, the anger, the frustration is evident in every single well-written sentence. This book is not only a window into the mind of one of the best British writers of the late 19th century. It is also a timeless lesson on what can happen when one falls in love with someone who doesn't truly appreciate what they have before them. Of course there are other lessons to be learned in this book but rather than point them out here, I'd much prefer you pick up a copy of "De Profundis" as soon as you can.

Not actually a "letter," though it had to be originally presented as such for him to be allowed to write it while in prison, *De Profundis* is Wilde's masterpiece--one has to have really lived and really, really suffered to have written it and it's amazing that he achieved it.

I only very recently read it--and "got" it. It rings true to me, and is very, very moving and "profound." It ain't summer beach reading.

Wilde is still and will probably always be best known as a "Personality"--that and the author of a couple of decent period plays, a short novel, a few stories, and lots of forgettable poems and such. But THIS--THIS is IT.

He really WAS a great writer, it turns out, after all.

So many people concentrate on De Profundis' accusations cast towards Alfred Douglas. Yes, it's true that the letter was written to him and that Wilde is ruthless in letting Douglas know exactly what he thinks of him but that's not why De Profundis is a great piece of work. It is great for three reasons. Number one - It contains the best account of the life of Christ. Christ as the romantic artist is the only account that has moved me to tears and the only account I can personally embrace. Number two - it is chock full of the Oscar Wilde voice and wit and as a result it reverbates as a true work of art and number three - It is ultimately a work that celebrates the things in life worth feeling - failure, love, injustice, strength and forgiveness.

Don't waste your time with the accusations towards Douglas. He is unimportant. Oscar Wilde is what's important and De Profundis is Oscar Wilde bare.

Ah, me...one doesn't know which to be more irritated
and exasperated with: whether it be Walt Whitman doing
his dissembling shuck-and-shuffle about the children
he had sired (to throw off a probing, serious John
Addington Symonds) -- or Oscar, in this "j'accuse," which
he should have spoken while looking in a mirror, rather
than writing it on paper to Lord Alfred.
This is without doubt a fascinating, horrifying,
and yet in places humorous, "piece de Miserere mei"
(to combine a bit of French with Latin).
If one chooses to believe Oscar, his only fault
was weakness in "giving in" to Lord Alfred. Oh,
come now. Blinded by Eros, reason flies out the
door...if ever reason was in control. There are
some sentences which are devastatingly revealing,
but Oscar doesn't seem to see it. "The trivial in
thought and action is charming. I had made it
the keystone of a very brilliant philosophy expressed
in plays and paradoxes." Ye gods, and little fishes!

And this man dared to call himself a "Classicist?!"
Yikes!!!
The best exercise for the reader is to just take
many of the things which Oscar accuses Lord Alfred
of, and turn them toward the self-blind, self-
justifying Oscar, to see their devastating hitting
of the mark. Never having met the young man, but
only having the "benefit" of hearsay (mostly from
Oscar's literary defenders) Lord Alfred seems to have
been calculating, temperamental (using anger to get
his way), manipulative, etc., etc., etc. The best
description of him may be Wilde's referring to him
with the lines from Aeschylus' play AGAMEMNON,
about the lion cub being raised in a house and
being let loose to wreak havoc and ruin.
But Oscar bears his share of blame -- more than just
that of the "sin" of weakness which he constantly falls
back upon in his own justification. Even in the midst
of what purports to be some sort of penitent cry from
the depths of hell...Oscar still is ever the poseur:
"And I remember that afternoon, as I was in the railway
carriage whirling up to Paris, thinking what an impossible,
terrible, utterly wrong state my life had got into, when
I, a man of world-wide reputation, was actually forced
to run away from England, in order to try and get rid
of a friendship that was entirely destructive of everything
fine in me either from the intellectual or ethical point
of view...." Er, when was the last time that the
"everything fine" had last seen the light of day?
Was Oscar an "Artist," as he consistently claims?
Was he the wronged, harmed Artist? Perhaps only the
reader can decide that for himself. Without doubt
he was witty, acerbic, funny, cute, clever, perhaps
even charming (to some -- sort of like a Pillsbury
Dough Boy with flair and a clever tongue), perhaps
stylish (in a frumpy, velveteen sort of way). Was
he wronged by a predatory clinger and manipulator,
and a hypocritical social prudery and class power
play (Oscar is no Socrates--that's for sure!)? He
hardly seems worthy, in some ways, of being a poster-boy
for Gay Pride parades. More likely, he is a better
warning poster boy for the self-excusing, and never
take-responsibility-for-your-own-actions crowd.
But this is an incredible piece to read and think
about. There is some of it that is mordantly hilarious.

This is Saul Williams but it is not a book of poetry. It is well written and I would recomend it to anyone who likes Saul Williams, poetry, hip hop or both.

Saul Williams, hip-hop's so-called "poet laureate," can comfortably add "hip-hop mystic" to his résumé with this collection of excellent poetry. His rhymes drip with the religious symbolism of ancient Mystery cults (most notably, Isis) as he journeys with the reader on a path to self-discovery, spiritual fulfillment, and ethical reasoning. In hip-hop Williams sees ancient drums and chants, camp-fire storytellers whose power has been hijacked by capitalist greed, materialism, defeatism, and chauvinism. He teaches through twistable and irresistible verse that the power of history's lessons and thought can change worlds by changing words.

I admit that I am not a hip-hop fan, per say. I do enjoy a select few artists (Williams included), and have studied African American history/culture, so I was not entirely unfamiliar with the themes/issues of this book. I am, however, a lover of poetry, truth, and vulnerable strength, which Saul Williams encapsulates perfectly. Truly, one need not know much about hip-hop to appreciate this book. No matter one's musical preference or cultural background, Williams speaks truth, and therefore can be embraced by all. "Word is bond."

i've written tons of academic papers (including my current thesis) on williams; his work is unbelievable and should be taught everywhere. his attempt to uplift hip-hop is honorable and appreciated.

The Dead Emcee Scrolls start out with a great new poem called NGH WHT. After that, a good deal of the material is from older poems that he has in some cases edited, while in others, left mainly the same. NGH WHT is filled with subtle nuances that are not always easy to pick up on, so multiple reads are likely merited.

While a bit repetitive for die-hard fans, the work gives a very strong representation of where his work comes from, but also has some great new material. As to where he will go from here, that is anyone's guess.

I first heard about this book on a message board (I think it was the one from DaveyD.com) and I really enjoyed reading the publisher's excerpt, and it was just the introduction. With it, I didn't know how to take it. Whether it was truth or just a very well worded story from Saul Williams. Either way, I could feel the vibe of Hiphop Kulture coming from it. So of course, I went out and bought it.

I was blown away.

I first heard of Saul from the book ", said the Shotgun to the Head." So I already thought I knew what to expect. But I was completly blown away by the deepness of these poems. Whether really taken from a strange manuscript in an old spray can or just a way to publish his own poems about Hiphop's preservation of love, peace, and unity, this was great. I recommend it for anyone who like poetry, spoken word, rap music, or just books. Very good.

Powerful is the word that comes to mind. The writing, the plot and the dialogue. The character of Carrie is as different from me as night and day and yet when she needed to be strong she totally came through for herself. I didn't agree with many of the choices she made yet by the end of the novel I was rooting for her like she was a best friend.

The husband is truly irredeemable and I am glad to say I have not in my lifetime been around anyone so domineering, condescending, insufferable and without self-awareness. In fact, his whole life revolved around him, he can't grasp why everyone around him wasn't focused at all times on his needs. Loathsome. The author does a terrific job of making him so real that you hope never to cross paths with him.

I absolutely adored Val. I could totally see why Carrie was drawn to her. I loved the way Val was written as so very strong and unique yet not without flaws.

This is a book that will stay with you forever.

I was quite disappointed in this book - it was the first fiction of its kind I have ever read and sadly it lived up to all the negative stereotypes. The husband character in the book is such a cardboard-cut out villian the lesbian lover is a virtual saint. However the author has a real talent for making sex scenes erotic. Definitely a book for flicking through ...

Katherine has done it again, with her usual finesse, she's brought characters to life with writing so clear and descriptive it was as if I had been scooped up by some force and surreally planted in the midst of the events of EMERGENCE. I am in awe! I only wish there were some sort of epilogue, to give me some sense of closure to Val and Carrie's relationship, and especially to the evil that befalls Paul (Carrie's ex-husband). No complaints; just wishes. Truly remarkable!!

I began reading Katherine V Forrest's mystery novels and I hate to admit... but I wasn't terribly impressed. Yet so many of my friends said she was one of their favorite authors. So I finally picked up "An Emergence of Green" and now she is also one of my favorite authors.
This is a wonderfully touching story of how the friendship between two women blossom into something more. I highly recommend this book to anyone, gay or straight.
It reads very fast, and I was on the edge of my seat through many chapters not wanting to wait to find out what happens next. The setting is a bit dated, but the story refreshing. You won't be disappointed

Alice Street Editions has released a new edition of this 1986 novel by author Katherine V. Forrest, originally published by Naiad Press. If you read this novel long ago, it is worth the purchase price just to read the foreword from the author and the afterword written by Victoria A. Brownworth. But the book is worth rereading for its own merits.
Set in 1984 in Los Angeles against the backdrop of the Olympics and the presidential campaign involving the first (and only) woman candidate for vice president, the novel is not dated at all by this, nor is it dated by its subject matter. It is as fresh and nuanced and topical as if it had been written today.
The point is made in the afterword that Ms. Forrest writes about lesbians for lesbians. In this novel, among the first in a new genre of lesbian fiction, Ms. Forrest carefully and skillfully presents the male character, the antagonist, as fully drawn and as sympathetically as one could, a man trapped by his upbringing and his past and the social mores of his time. One may not feel sympathy for him, given the inevitable and violent denouement, but we can certainly understand him.
In fact, a reader might even begin to feel less sympathy and more impatient with the main character Carolyn Blake than perhaps might be expected. She is a trophy wife, married at nineteen to a man ten years older who is already well established in his corporate career track. She sublimates her own education and career to his, leaving jobs to move with his transfers, seemingly accepting without question that her career is less important. A friendship with the woman next door, Val Hunter, a divorced artist with a son, allows Carolyn, and the reader, to begin to draw comparisons.
One of the most interesting things about this novel is how close we get to all three main characters. We see Val through Carolyn's admiring eyes and growing affection, and also through Paul's growing resentment and jealousy as he comes to understand she is his rival. We see Carolyn both through her husband's idealistic view as a possession of which he inordinately proud, and as Val comes to know her, a vibrant woman who has spent far too much time acquiescing to Paul's idea of the perfect wife. Carolyn struggles to continue to believe her husband's possessiveness is a product of his impoverished childhood, the early loss of his mother, and his love for her, which she believes is genuine. Val sees a grown man who is domineering and arrogant in his presumptive male superiority. She instinctively feels there is something infantile about Paul's need for Carolyn, and Carolyn herself often refers to her husband as a little boy. Once she thought of this as an endearing trait, but she begins to feel his need to have her with him as clinging, suffocating, and ultimately controlling.
The tug of war that ensues between husband and friend for the heart and mind of Carolyn Blake slowly escalates as the sexual tension and awareness between the two women increases.
For those who haven't read this book before, a few words of caution. The nature of sex itself is at the heart of this novel. There are no pulled punches here. Ms. Forrest is not shy about delineating the intimate sexual details of a marriage and, exquisitely, the sexual and very sensual relationship between the two women. Nor does she back away from the same attention to the excruciating unraveling of Paul Blake and his eventual recourse to violence as the familiar world he has created starts to crumble.
I once had the pleasure of meeting Ms. Forrest, and found myself peppered with questions about this book, then yet to be released by Alice Street. On the eve of the release of her thirteenth book, the eighth in the Kate Delafield detective series, she wanted to know about a book she had written almost twenty years ago, as nervous as a first time author. Perhaps recalling the critical reviews of many years ago, she asked whether the main character, Carolyn Blake, was too weak.
The answer then and now is an emphatic no. Many women may recognize themselves in Carolyn, guided by the accepted precepts of her time, who believed that in placing their husbands' lives and careers first, they were perhaps doing the hard work often assigned women, that of balancing the cementing of family and home against their own sometimes unspoken desires; to be a woman meant doing what had to be done, and then doing more, if one wanted to also have a career. It takes some time for Carolyn Blake to realize her own needs and to leave behind the conventions to which she adhered but in which she found no rewards for her loyalty, no comfort or room for herself.
The afterword properly places this novel, and Katherine V. Forrest's body of work, firmly in the history of a genre she helped to create, both as an author of great skill, and as senior editor at Naiad Press for ten years.

Nursery ryhmes are so important to learn as a child. As an adult, I know most of them and wanted to teach them to my children. I researched the perfect book that included all the rhymes I remembered. This book was it!! It had all the classic nursery ryhmes I remembered and more! And you will love the illustrations...beautiful! My son (age 4) remembers each picture and will talk about it. You will find so much detail in each illustration that will add to the nursery ryhme even more. I highly recommend this book!

This book is the perfect gift for a baby especially if they have an
older sibling that can read to them. Everyone should have the chance
to enjoy the beautiful pictures and rhymes
while holding a precious baby.

We loved the book, Got it for a new grandson and the
pictures were gorgeous and well constructed binding.
Can not say enough good things about it. It had all
of the old favorites we read to our children when they
were small. Buy it.

I bought this book for my 22 month-old, and she loves it even more than I expected her to. I did not realize when I ordered it that the book is actually pretty large, but she carries it around everywhere with her. It is really adorable to see her padding toward me on her tiny feet with a book that's at least 1/2 her size saying, "Read this to me." The illustrations are precious. She enjoys exploring the pictures as much as listening to the verses. If it were up to her we would sit and read this together all day.

This is truly the most incredible Mother Goose book that I have ever seen an I'm a children's librarian!!!!

In a collection of poems inspired by some of the concepts fundamental to relationships between lover and loved. Glenn A. Fenster's FEELINGS AND PROMISES taps into the human experience of love, sex, death, connection, loss, hope, mystery and more.

The poem's subjects range from the very personal to the broadly elemental. He describes both beautiful scenery and complex inner emotions, sometimes within the same verse. This is an interesting collection that feels very accessible to those of us who might not read poetry regularly. At one poem per page, this slim volume of 69 pages offers a lot of material to explore. FEELINGS AND PROMISES delivers Fenster's view of the world, and in the way of poetry, asks us to consider our own.

The poetry of Glenn A. Fenster is carefully crafted, elegant, lyrical, and memorable. Feelings And Promises is a superb introduction to Fenster's abilities and skills as a weaver of words, images, and feelings. Time And Space: Summers first rain,/Words drown./Obscurity creates disbelief,/Tears act as exoneration/A pain death could cause/And love could give./Standing in shadows/Swallowed by the light,/As recycled paper/Years fasten themselves/To pass as thorns/And ill advised moments/Only to be balanced/By the offing/That you pervade./Landscaped lives/Obtaining the malicious possessions/Time spaced by inconsistences/Of a man's life/We choose or become/Accept and be stagnate/Emotionally secured by either/We tend to lean upon,/Time and space.

Feelings and Promises: The poetry of Glenn A. Fenster,69 pages of poetry, 3 pages Table of Contents in numerical order and 3 pages of acknowledgements is dedicated to his brother Randy. Published by Gray matter Publishing & Design Co., Athens, GA. Glenn A. Fenster's Feelings and Promises is a fine philosophical collection of poems which speak out with an independent voice that shapes his creations the way that wind sculpts soft sand into visions of art. Among these excellent works are poems which etch picturesque cells of life. I particularly enjoyed the following: Dying Rose Petals ("My tongue felt your exquisite body reach out...") (p.12) Decades Have Passed... of this poem, it is as if Glenn is meditating with a distant Zulu shaman and is being taught secrets from the great book of mystery about the reason he must write. (p.23) Children ("Echoed sounds of passing trains / Become children turned into statues") (p.68)

Here are poems from a very personal perspective. The word "I" used in many of Glenn's writings, lets the reader know just how personal Glenn's "Feelings and Promises" are crafted into each poem. This book is recommended to read during those times when you search for answers within yourself, and also to understand as though looking inward, through another person's mind, just what that search has discovered.

Gary Elton Warrick December 29, 1999

Hi, I have read a few of my Uncle Glenn A. Fenster's poems even though he doesn't approve of me reading his poetry. I think his poetry is great. It expresses his emotions and feelings greatly. I truly like his work. Not because he's my uncle but because he as a true talent.

From, Stephanie 15 yr. old niece of Glenn Fenster.

"FEELINGS & PROMISES" is just a wonderful collection of contemporary poetry. I found it to be insightful, soulful and thought provoking. As a fellow poet of "BARE BREASTED HEART" I could relate to the written words of this wonderful collection.

So much poetry is written in code where you really have to hesitate and wonder if you are comprehending the poetry as the author intended. This collection althought thought provoking bring you full circle to the intention of the writer.

I loved it and I encourage further writing from this poet! Would make a great gift or a personal treat to oneself.

Saadia's writing always leaves me wanting to read more...and more...
Her poems are powerful, confident, honest, funny and sexy. Never dull and always lively. The juxtapositions in her work never cease to amaze.
These are the kind of poems I wish I had written. That I want to send to my friends, because it's what I'm thinking. I love 'Mischief: Inspired by Tequila' ... ("My discarded/ red dress/watches us rejected and/dry"). And 'Kerouac's Lover' is just plain hot.

Her poetry has a way of making you root for sin. Always.

I'm not going to try to wax poetic here. I just want to say that Saadia's poetry is top notch! She can write about anything imaginable, and that is the mark of a true artist. Like the title says, her poems have the ability to hit you like a bullet, and other times like a nice soft pillow. The variety is amazing. Reading her poems is a joy and at the same time educational. Those of us on Xanga refer to her as our "poetry professor." I have learned more about poems, poetry, forms, and creativity in the last few months, than I have learned in my lifetime. I am grateful to have found the writing of this talented poet, and I am also grateful that I can call her a friend. -Randy Van Otterloo

She's a lover, and a lady, a mother, and a wife, a sinner, and a saint sharing pieces of life. She, and her words, so beautifully irresistible, that she will lure you in with her "Lavish Lines and Luscious Lies". You will go happily to your demise. What better way to go. Give in to her sultry temptation, and you will be rewarded with "Flirtations and Booze"

Saadia's writing, is a weekend in the finest hotel with the lover of your dreams, and memories that will last a lifetime..... She takes you for a ride in a BMW Z8 through the canyon roads of southern California at 100 miles an hour... Hang on tight! The ride is an intense one, but she has everything under control. ..... and now, I can't wait for the next ride :o)

Brent

This may be a "short," but it's long on brilliance. Aschemann's keen intelligence and stiletto wit carries the reader along breathlessly into worlds wished for but never quite achieved. Perhaps she's holding us up to the prism of her reality, forcing us to look inside ourselves, holding us responsible for our forbidden thoughts. Whatever it is, she certainly knows her way around words and makes them work hard for the money.

Required reading.

Amazing! This is one of those things that I downloaded with every intent on reading it later when I had time. But once I took a peek, I couldn't stop, everything else went on the back burner. This was the best 'me' time, I had in quite a while. Sultry Saadia draws you in with the first poem, leaving you breathless to the end....