Poetry Books

The two things you should know about Heather McHugh's "Eyeshot" are that it can be difficult to understand what many of her phrases and even entire poems mean at first glance, and that it can be very rewarding when you do get into them, rereading them five, ten times, and start sorting everything out. McHugh deals with language in a number of different ways (she considers sounds, etymology, idiomatic phrasing, slang, techno-speak, and more) and often brings up multiple language issues at once. In addition, she is actively obscuring pieces of her poem, like the strict iambic meter and the concrete details. So what she ends up with are formal poems telling narrative stories or capturing real images, but hidden away behind free-verse explorations of words and wordplay, and the reader must work to figure everything out. And it can be hard work indeed. But, since McHugh excels not only in both of these modes of writing, but in the marrying of them together, it can be very satisfying once the words and images start falling into place. As other reviewers have mentioned, images and themes of eyes and sight are covered throughout the book, and this adds an additional challenge: once you start solving the puzzles of the individual poems, you can begin to consider how they relate to each other.

Two of the more accessible poems in the book are "Goner's B*ner" and "The Retort Room," which feature McHugh's signature style in phrases like "Is it a mistake / or a misgiving?" and "past eking out, past aching in," and I would recommend that a reader new to her writing start there.

Eyeshot is a collection of free-verse poetry. The common theme of the wide range of human blindness - from literally being unable to see to willfully refusing to see what lies before one - permeates these often dark verses, sometimes brooding and anxious, sometimes laced with black humor. "Through" (After Sully Prudhomme) In blue or black, all lovely and beloved, / Some countless human eyes have seen the dawn. / They're sleeping at the bottom of the grave. / Here comes the sun. // But far more delicately than the days / The nights ignite in countless eyes a spark. / The stars are always sending out their rays: / Eyes fill with dark. // That they should lose their glimmer, one and all- / No way. It simply isn't possible. / I say they've turned toward the side we call / Invisible. // And like the stars that must incline to set / They too are somewhere out there in the sky; / The eye-lights may go down at times and yet / They do not die. // All lovely or beloved, in black and blue, / To any dawn's immensities disposed / On earth's far side they're seeing through / The lids we closed.

Eyeshot. Earshot. Snapshot. I shot. Eyes shot. eYes... hot. Heather McHugh's latest book is--aye--hot. Written toward a readership as enamored with language as she, Eyeshot (exa)mines language at the level beneath ordinary diction for its twinkling possibilities, its intersections, its coincidences. McHugh's poetry recognizes (and flowers forth from) root alphabetic patterns and cadences in the music of her own speech: puns, anagrams, homonyms, iambs, internal and end rhymes, words spelled backwards that make other words, words contained within other words, words suggested by other words. Pupils. Blind dates. An "eye-gulp" (seen in a flash as "eye-plug"). As lush and seductive as the "purple burning overspill[ing]/ the porch-side torches of the lilac," McHugh's voice at once defies boundaries and leverages traditional form to accentuate sound, sight, and meaning.

In fact, she seems just as interested in what the eye and ear can do with language--how they receive and process linguistic information through distortion, dissection, truncation, and recombination--as with the understandings that emanate organically from such radically experimental seeing and hearing. Her poems are not self-consciously epiphanic, rather exploratory, inquisitive, ironic, and progressive in the most literal sense: that is, they arrive at meaning through a progression of linguistic play and connections. For example, the simple phrase "You're your/ own owner, no?" opens into much more than a cute case of phonic repetition and reversal, where the ghosted "know"--do you know yourself?--inherits its semantic weight from the visual and aural convergences in these two lines.

While many of her poems deal seriously with such themes as love, displacement, and death, humor is the overarching characteristic that sustains McHugh's elaborate project: "Somebody spell us! Help!" Accident and absurdity seem to govern her universe. Bird calls are deciphered in the most outlandish ways: "Potato chips!", "Who cooks for you?" and "Quick, quick, give me the raincheck!" And who else would address a brain in a jar, outrageously, as "O single-minded/ one!" Still, McHugh's work remains grounded in poignant moments of arrival, where "on the one hand... in the scheme of things we matter/ marvelously little; on the other,... we are// the scheme of things."

McHugh's "Eyeshot" is a jungle of puns, double-entendres, triple-phrase-turns and bizarre zingers. Its title alone announces the kind of humorous (though not exactly light-hearted) indeterminacy McHugh sets whirring to get her through each poem. This book is as entertaining and admirable an example of linguistic bootstrapping as any, as in "Iquity": "No need for misery: in cine-pop / a little extra nookie on the side; in cine-mom your / hubbie hurries home. (Hi, hon.) Your honor, honest, / is not implicated. Soothers / must, by definition, say / no terrifying truths." All McHugh needs to jump into higher gears is her ear and/or dictionary.

Few books of "serious" poetry inspire outright laughter, but be prepared for numerous outbursts: "I pray / this baby we are seeing walloped, wiped and winningly anointed, / turns out dumb as oakum-and more sinister. That way / he can crown a tranquil life by being / appoined a cabinet minister." ("After Su Tung P'o") McHugh is masterful at dropping in rhymes at just the right moment, and her aural/verbal play never takes a breather, much less a breath: "My one / and only: money / minus one. No noun / like a pronoun!-best of all / the jealous kind. Come, come, / company doll, cide with a coin, / one moan, one / more, honey / bunch." ("The Magic Cube") This is a poet for whom the materiality and cross-pollination of words is an endlessly amusing miracle.

Yet McHugh is equally in love with sight: "Years I poured it forth, without / a thought. To left and right / I sprayed the wide world's / spectacle. I made a blue / bird sparkle, and a red tree" ("Out of Eyeshot"). The blur of senses, the blur of seeing, and the blur of being form the central concern of this book. McHugh finds nothing so serious, either: "Downline, it's not / our substance pours away: / it is our shine." ("Mind's Eye"); "The world / itself is worried. Trees stand out, spectacularly / branched: the mind's eye grows alert: this thing / could hurt." ("Fido, Jolted by Jove") Perception shapes reality-and this cliché sheds its banality in McHugh's deft leaps. Not often does one encounter a book of poetry so saturated with exuberance, for language or for living.

Heather McHugh, Eyeshot (Wesleyan, 2003)

The best thing about Eyeshot is Heather McHugh's amazing use of language; it's like reading John M. Bennett without the dyslexia and cut-up/fold-in stuff. McHugh has one of the strongest senses of rhythm, both in formal and free verse, I've come across in quite a while, and it usually manifests itself without drawing attention to the form (in those poems where one exists in this collection; the forms here are usually on the loose side anyway), an amazing achievement in a time when formal poetry may not be dead, but is lying in hospice, suffocated by the weight of a million teen-angst poets who think sonnets are for sissies and have never heard the word "canzone." Read this. **** ½

Chris's letters sure touches me, bringing about the wonderful memories of myself and my love. Sad or happy they may be, I am smiling now while thinking of them. His letters, again may seem simple but it's what you will have been through in your path of love.

(First off, I am not into much 'romance' stuff, never have, so prose like this doesn't very often move me.) The poetry, letters and diary entries are wonderful, loving, romantic thoughts to a girl deeply loved. With the nature of the prose and the descriptive words, I can 'see' the scene set in many of the entries. Deep, heartfelt thoughts some bitter, mostly sweet though and a good read.

I like the tile because the beauty of love, the passion of romance, the pain of seperation and the healings that comes from forgiveness are all associated to love. Therefore the book will not harm anyone but rather it will assist every reader on how to make the best use of the above important properties of love at the right time.
Everyone will like to go into love by uderstanding its beauty and the persion associated with romane. If you read and uderstand the pain asocited with seperation in a relationship you will not like to go into it, and since you dont want to pass through it, You will not like your partner either. This will help in building a healthy relationship. Everyone will forgive his love one when he or she uderstand that there is healing that comes from forgiveness and there by building a relationship more stonger. [...]

After reading the book, I felt sure that Chris had failed to express his love by himself. As a result, he has joined hands with nature, with deep and vast oceans, with stars and the sun that fall and rise, with golden fields, with rivers and windmills, and with trees and their virgin shadow so that he can love and adore his beloved properly. His honest love demands all the universe for its expression. His poems impress both mind and heart. In short, I found his poems hauntingly lovely.

Chris always seems to amaze me by the way he can play with my emotions. One minute he has me smiling, the next minute I'm crying, then I'm smiling again (or laughing !). Very few writers I've read over the years have had the ability to do this, and I would have to put Chris among the elite few.

Fathering Words portrays the grief and loss one man feels when his father and brother suddenly die within two years of each other. Their deaths cause Miller to recall how seldom he and his father spoke, and yet, he always knows his father loves the family. That singular way one person cares for and remembers another is at the spiritual core of this book. What does a son inherit from the men in his family when there are few conversations? Miller compares his life and his dreams to that of his older brother, and maps out the goals for his own future as he marries, has his own children, and embarks on his career as a poet. He punctuates the story with the gracious voice of his older sister, Marie, as he imagines how the family might have looked to her. Marie carries the secrets and stories that filter down to the younger son as rumors and tales. She becomes a source of information and verification of the family history. Using a network of subtle references to religion, classical and jazz music, basketball and baseball, as well as motifs from literary works, Miller provides a number of avenues by which a broad spectrum of readers will be able to enter and inhabit his poignant text.

For those who want to write about their own lives, the book provides a model for creating scenes in small vignettes that become interconnected by the end of the chapter, as opposed to providing a direct narrative path from the beginning of a life to the present. For writers who aspire to become published, and perhaps even famous, Miller chronicles the encounters he has with a number of writers, revealing the history of African American literature in the past thirty years.

I teach Fathering Words in a senior-level college course on autobiography at the University of Southern Indiana. Readers who want more information about the author might start with his website ....

If I had received this book five years ago, it would have saved me five years of pain and confusion. Fathering Words is the tangible witness of a man's journey into and through his writing life. Unlike many writing memoirs, it is not a how to, or even a how, but a detatched narrative of his life as a poet. He is eerily objective about the mistakes and choices he has made, and uses occasional passages from his sister to broaden the view he gives the reader.

I learned more about the writing process, more about the yearning that true writers feel, and more about the lack of understanding that non-artists have about the whys and wherefores. If you know an African-American man who yearns to "father words", buying this book for him will be the best show of support you can give him.

Fathering Words is a deeply moving memoir. Ethelbert Miller's description of his father will remain with the reader for a very long time. His decision to write the book using both his and his sister's voice is unique and it works.It's definitely a keeper.

Fathering Words portrays the grief and loss one man feels when his father and brother suddenly die within two years of each other. Their deaths cause Miller to recall how seldom he and his father spoke, and yet, he always knows his father loves the family. That singular way one person cares for and remembers another is at the spiritual core of this book. What does a son inherit from the men in his family when there are few conversations? Miller compares his life and his dreams to that of his older brother, and maps out the goals for his own future as he marries, has his own children, and embarks on his career as a poet. He punctuates the story with the gracious voice of his older sister, Marie, as he imagines how the family might have looked to her. Marie carries the secrets and stories that filter down to the younger son as rumors and tales. She becomes a source of information and verification of the family history. Using a network of subtle references to religion, classical and jazz music, basketball and baseball, as well as motifs from literary works, Miller provides a number of avenues by which a broad spectrum of readers will be able to enter and inhabit his poignant text.

For those who want to write about their own lives, the book provides a model for creating scenes in small vignettes that become interconnected by the end of the chapter, as opposed to providing a direct narrative path from the beginning of a life to the present. For writers who aspire to become published, and perhaps even famous, Miller chronicles the encounters he has with a number of writers, revealing the history of African American literature in the past thirty years.

I teach Fathering Words in a senior-level college course on autobiography at the University of Southern Indiana. ...

This book is so beautifully written, so touchingly direct that I called Howard University to search out the author and tell him what a compelling book he had written. Anyone who is a father, about to be a father or contemplating being a father (whether African-American or not) will find this book touching in what it says about the frequently mute love between fathers and their sons. African-Americans families are often love mutes like Mr. Miller's-- too busy working, too focused on the quotidien to express love outside provision of food and shelter. Out of such silent, seemingly fallow ground, E. Ethelbert Miller heaps up words of love and power, fathering not only his own father, but his whole family in some of the most poetic prose you will ever read.

Everyone who aims for the ultimate, the elusive, and the exquisite, ought to pack. The edition is affordable, durable, well-organized, comprehensive . . . and produced with care NOT to alter the form or format of the poems . . . which for some dreadful reason a lot of folks seem to feel compelled to do . . .

more importantly . . . all that white witchcraft still dazzles

For those whose aquiantance with the Belle of Amherst is limited to the classroom edition - i.e., There is no Frigate Like a Book, et al., look again. Dickenson really is the epitome of the rugged individualist - a free spirit - in ways surprisingly opposed to her contemporary, Whitman, she arrives at similar conclusions going no further than her garden. She is the inward sojourner - at home in the harshest tensions and conflicts of the psyche - where her distinctly feminine sensitivity speaks truth in "slant" - as she qualifies her enormous insight.

Most haunting: 'Success is counted sweetest', 'To learn the Transport by the Pain', 'My life closed twice before its close', and, "My Life had stood - a Loaded Gun -". Dickenson laments our sovereign anguish, our exile from the immediate truth or the comprehensive immediacy of truth, the quest for which her poems articulate an urgent hunger enveloped in alternately the most naturistically ambient references or stonily direct terms.

This is the best collection/selection of Emily Dickinson's poems I have ever found. They're selected from a complete collection. What's special about this book is that none of the poems are edited, as is done in many other collections of her works - and excellent choices are made for which poems to include. Emily often used simple dashes at the ends of her lines, and this selection is true to her originals - and she never put titles on her poems, or indented lines - as many other collections of her poems have the audacity to do - as if the editors of those works knew better than this greatest poet the English language has ever known.

There are Emily Dickinson's greatest poems, most of which my guess is , have in one way or another been anthologized. There is her complete oeuvre of 1775 poems, a large volume indeed. I am not a Dickinson scholar and I found myself a bit lost with such a large number of poems to search through for new gems.
This present volume edited by the dean of Dickinson scholars purports to choose of the total oeuvre the very best of her work.
I truly appreciate this as a volume of this kind can extend my knowledge and appreciation of her poetry in a way which is most economical and helpful to me.

I was never actually a fan of poetry until I encountered Emily Dickinson's poems. It seems as if she has written a poem for everyone. I strongly recomend this book, as my English teacher did to me, not only because of my love for Emily Dickinson, but for the quality of the book. It is obvious that Thomas H. Johnson, the editor, put many long hours of hard work into gathering this collection. Many of her poems were simply scribbled on little pieces of paper, which makes me wonder what kind of literary genius she must have been. With the help of this book, she has become my favorite poet, and I have learned that poetry can be strong medicine for the hurting soul. Final Harvest never leaves my side.

Don't get me wrong, I truly love a large selection of the poems in this volume. However, that is a measure of Emily Dickenson and me, not T. Johnson's collection. What makes this book better than many that are around and about, as has been mentioned, is the lack of editing to her poems--something that has always bothered me. In this regard, the content of the poems is better than many others, however there are other issues of note.

This is, of course, an abridged collection. As such, we are forced to rely on the opinion of another. Granted this is common enough with poetry collections, but that doesn't change the very nature of each person having differing interests. There is no way to know if the ones he leaves out are just as good or even better, from each individuals perspective, without going to more comprehensive texts.

Regardless, I do have one gripe with this book that is unrelated to the above pettiness. The method of dating each poem seems silly to me. The reason is that they are all claimed to be from one of several (if memory serves 3) years separated out over several decades. That and there are two listings of dates for each poem, which I don't recall off hand why they did that, and it may serve some purpose, but it's not useful information if when these poems were written can only be pinned down to plus or minus five-ten years. I can't blame Johnson for this as I imagine that is as close as is known, but, by the same token, the dates could have been left out so that it doesn't detract from the actual poetry.

All in all I would recomend this book, but I might suggest getting a more complete version instead (so long as it is unedited--Emily hated it when people wanted to edit her poems, and I think that we should respect that).

I was a kindergarten teacher and this rhyme was a staple during the month of October. When I saw it had been made into a book, I got it for my 2 year old daughter. It is perfect for this age. Short, rhyming text and vibrant pumpkin pictures. My 4 year old twins like it too because they are so familiar with the rhyme they feel like they are reading it themselves. Definitely a favorite for Halloween in this house.

The rhyme of Five Little Pumpkins is SO easy to read and memorize, the board book holds up very well, and the illustrations are very endearing--the jack-o-lantern faces are expressive and the colors are beautiful. This book made my 20-month-old son a jack-o-lantern fan, and I haven't gotten tired of reading it to him yet!

This board book with wipe-clean covers and pages is a delightful Halloween romp featuring the five famous little pumpkins of the familiar gradeschool song. Bright double page illustrations showing the five different jack-o-lanterns tell the tale of Halloween night that begins with the pumpkins "sitting on a gate" and finishes up with them "rolling out of sight." Simple but fun-filled witches on broomsticks, a black cat, and whispy smiling ghosts join in the fun. This book is rated for the ages of 1 1/2 and up and is basic and short enough to hold the attention of a very little one but can be used to learn reciting or singing. It is a nice touch for Halloween because there is no scariness in it and lots of smiling, bright colored action to follow. Sure to be a family favorite.

Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate.
The first one said, "Oh, my it's getting late!"
The second one said, "There are witches in the air."
The third one said, "But we don't care."
The fourth one said, "Let's run, let's run!"
The fifth one said, "Isn't Halloween fun?"

Then Woooooo went the wind
And OUT went the lights.
And five little pumpkins rolled out of sight.

My 2 1/2 year old just loves Halloween. It's only June as I write this and he's already asking if Halloween is coming soon almost on a daily basis. So when I saw this book at a yard sale I just had to pick it up. This delightful verse that has been around so long is accompanied by cute and spooky illustrations of pumpkins, ghosts, witches, and black cats. Just a delightful and sturdy little board book. Perfect for your little goblin.

Dan Yaccarino captures the essence of Halloween with simple, yet expressive pictures of pumpkins, ghosts and a black cat. My one year old son Ryan loves it when i read the story of the Five Little Pumpkins. He points to all the different pumpkin faces and loves their orange glow. The book wipes clean and withstands being dragged all over the house! I am a big fan of Dan Yaccarino's work, love his cartoon Oswald, so this book is a big Halloween fun delight!

"You don't have to be Jewish" to enjoy Mel Belin's poems. But, like a good rich rye bread, if you don't already know what to expect, you'll be surprised to find how sensual and complex the joys of this particualr cultural tradition can be.

The 53 poems in FLESH THAT WAS CHRYSALIS range widely--and wildly--over an astonishing expanse of family, history, ancient legend, philosophical reasoning and honest emotion.

Some individual poems stand out for memorable phrases and inventiveness: "Anniversary" with its arresting evocation of a family tragedy; "Leaf and Tree" that speculates on the moment when dying begins; or "The Mephisto Waltz," where we watch a life passing in reverse.

Poems like these transcend their author's personal history and ethnic background--a challenge that many poets today seem unwilling or unable to attempt. Speaking to strangers, those who don't necessarily share your own priorities and values, calls for a special kind of courage (or bravado) that Belin has. His best poems produce effects that any reader with a heart open to compassion and a mind alert to unconventional possibilities can relish and be glad for.

END

Mel Belin is always eloquent, often moving (great poem at end of the book on the joys of being lost), and, for me, particularly pleasing when he combines his usual eloquence with a sad-eyed, Woody-Allenish humor -- as he often does in these poems.

"Mel Belin's poems in Flesh That Was Chrysalis balance the poignancy of change or loss with a spiritual optimism that a relationship or something else of transcendent value has been maintained. The book has four distinct sections held together by their intelligence, spiritual sensitivity and respect for the traditions of culture and of poetry . . . Although I was unfamiliar with Belin's poems before reading this collection, I was excited to discover a writer with his skill, his range of subjects and heart."

-- Marcia L. Hurlow, Small Press Review Nov./Dec. 2000

Mel Belin is an accomplished poet. Flesh That Was Chrysalis is an engaging anthology of his work showcasing the best that he has done to date and documents Belin as worthy of national attention. Pas De Deux: When Marguerite danced around Faust/supple and girlish, a swirl in the white/silk dress, a blush on her cheeks,/caught him in the worm of her smell--/a sachet blend of herbs, flowers---/with the hook. Mephisto, grinning/like a pitchman at some sideshow/rubes. When she flashed eyes shimmering/their moonlit lakes, and in the surrounding/brush, a savant, wrinkled, hungry/for communion,/touched him where God/was not, he signed the contract on the spot.

Masterful, hard hitting, insightful, delightful-- Belin does it all! He separates the wheat from the chaff and is on his way to immortality. Personally, I am looking forward to much, much more of Melvin Stuart Belin.

I enjoyed the personal, conversational voice of Susan Wooldridge once again. In "Poemcrazy" she inspired me and gave me my most often referred to teaching tool. This time, in "Foolsgold," she let me know who she is. I wholeheartedly feel that this author is capable of affirming and uplifting any doubting creative soul. My only disappointment was not seeing either photographs of her "boxes" or more creative writing exercises included. I would love Susan to produce a "Poemcrazy II."

Foolsgold changed my life in the most amazing way. I was not in a creative rut when I picked up the book, but I decided to check it out anyway, because I was in a general life rut that had been going on for too long. So I read Foolsgold, and everything changed. Susan G. Wooldridge gave me the courage to do things I have always wanted to do, and to ask for things out of life that I have been afraid to ask for, things that I did not think were possible. And guess what? I got what I asked for. Surprise, surprise! I have since given notice at my boring desk job, and I am now actively working with my husband towards opening our own small business. We bounce out of bed in the mornings discussing ideas- we are ecstatic about our future and our grand plans. This book lit many sparks that set my life into wonderful motion, and I smile a lot more than I did a month ago. I loved her honesty, encouragement, ideas, and sense of humor. It was such an delightful and comfortable read, it was as though I was reading a book that a close friend had written. I know that I will be reaching for the book again and again, and I am eternally grateful that I found it.

Written in easy-to-read style. Very interesting. Couldn't put it down. Almost felt like I was there(maybe I was?)
Got me thinking in other, more poetic terms. Recently went on a all-night fishing trip with about 60-70 guys sitting with their stocking caps showing above their seats and my thoughts turned to the bright colors and the order of things, not about guys trying to keep warm. Felt like I was hooked, not the fish!
Greg C

As a child did you engage in "treasure hunting"? I remember going on treasure hunts as part of childhood birthday parties and backyard play for many summers. I also remember the concept of a treasure hunt being used to help acclimate students my first year of nursing school. Sparse clues led the hunter from one location to another in search of some "hidden treasure."

As summer's end approaches, I am ending the summer in much the same way as I began the summer, with a second read-through of the recently released book Foolsgold: Making Something From Nothing and Freeing Your Creative Process by Susan G. Wooldridge. And now I'm recommending it to anyone and everyone who will listen! Several years ago I read Wooldridge's poemcrazy: freeing your life with words and found her style and material to be delightful and useful. So it is not surprising that I rushed to pick up a copy of her newest book.

What is surprising is that I didn't want to put it down, didn't want it to end, and couldn't wait to pick it back up for a second time. It is well written and informative, yes. But that is not the whole story. This book is far from "fool's gold" in the strict definition of the term. Rather, it is a rare gem.

In her own words, Susan G. Wooldridge says "Foolsgold describes a paradox, the value in what may seem to be worthless... Foolsgold reminds us to look beyond appearances, even in ourselves. What seems to loom in us most darkly may finally be what brings the most light."

I've found many helpful and inspiring quotes in the pages of this book, some of which have made their way already to my computer area as daily reminders. Others have been spotlighted in the SCN WiseWords.

Wooldridge's book is meant to urge all of us with creative longings to spend time with the simple and seemingly mundane aspects of our lives--and to be aware of all that "time and place" have to offer us in the way of peace, inspiration, motivation, or joy. She encourages us to go on treasure hunts at every opportunity... treasure hunts to seek out joy, wholeness and grounding.

If, like me, you are searching for a way to bring more simple and meaningful creative play into your world, perhaps Wooldridge can offer some exercises and practices for your consideration. Anyone interested in a good game of "Treasure Hunt"? First one to find "foolsgold" is the winner!

by Lee Ambrose
for Story Circle Book Reviews
reviewing books by, for, and about women

I heard about this book from Teesha Moore's blog, where she raved about it. For the first chapter or two, I was disappointed. Hardly any artistic "how-to" information, and a lot of what seemed to be whining. (The book was written shortly after her father passed away, and her marriage of 30 years ended in divorce. I understood that she was going through a tough time, but..)

About chapter 3 or 4, the book began to grow on me. Still not any "how-tos", just a few brief suggestions here and there. That's fine with me, I'm not reading for instruction, I'm more interested in being entertained. Her writing certainly fills that bill! Excellent stuff!

As a nature lover, I appreciate seeing the wildlife around us depicted realistically, both in words and in pictures, for children to understand and appreciate, also. Fredi is a book that does just that. When this author's cat book comes out, I want to be one of the first ones to get a copy! Mr. Anthony Jairus

I'm a librarian, and we've used this book in our Story Hour here at the library. It teaches kids not only about frogs, but the environment around us! A great book for children of all ages!

I say 'little kids' book,' but it is really an educational book for older ones as well, including myself, a retired elementary school teacher. I knew next to nothing about tree frogs until I read Fredi to my grandchildren. It has clear facts, humor, and exceptionally well- metered poetry. A fine book!

I am a day school teacher. My "children" and I loved this book, and learned a lot about tree frogs from it. The coloring book at the back also helps to impress the "frog facts" on the young mind, and the humorous rhyme telling the story is well done.

I am an Amphibian Researcher Here is a book that helps children to understand the relationship of frogs (particularly tree frogs) to the delicate balance that must be maintained in our environment. Frogs are the "indicators" of the future welfare of planet earth, and FREDI is a book that brings this out in an easy-to- understand, poetic, humorous way.

Joyce Beaulieu's book "From A Mother's Heart" is a very touching and heartfelt book for parents who has lost a child in death. I reccomend this book to not only mother's but to dad's too.

This is definitely not the type of book I ever thought I would write. However after the death of my 39 year old son to a brain anuerysm and 10 mos. later the passing of our 16 yr. old granddaughter from the flu it became apparent to me that this book was needed by so many families walking the same path of grief. The death of your child is the worst pain anyone can ever have. Your heart feels like it has been ripped out and you cannot see beyond the pain. However with a good support system and friends who have also lost a child you come to realize that you can help others by sharing your story and coping skills that helped you to make it thru "one day at a time." From A Mother's Heart is a book for everyone. Not just bereaved parents but also friends and family. Almost everyone knows someone who has lost a child and the chapter "How Can I Help?" is very useful to them in understanding the pain their relative or friend is going thru. This is a sad but faith filled book filled with hope that if the mother's who share their pain could make it so can you. My desire is to help others deal with their loss and show them they do not "walk alone". Angel Hugs,
Joyce Beaulieu.

This book is both beautiful and inspiring- Our son Andrew passed away when he was only 4 years old. Hearing from other parents who have been through this heartache means the world. This book helps us remember our children together by telling their stories. You will not regret reading this book.

I think that any book that helps people understand the process of grieving is a good tool to have. I know that having traveled this road for 4.5 years now, there are universal experiences while at the same time we are all of us different in our grief. Having met these women and men online on a grief website is significant as we all wandered to the site and found solace in one another. People helped me when I first came to the pain of losing my daughter and then I helped someone that came a few months after me. We become a circle of strength and healing. We know that those who are otherwise oblivious to the daily loss we experience are not insensitive, just luckily, not where we are. As we all find ways to best live our lives and best honor our children, I wish there hope in each parent's heart.I thank Joyce for finding this way to help us honor our kids.
Dee

I too have lost a child...My beloved daughter. Her name is Trisha and if you purchase this heart warming book you will not only read "All about Trish" and my poem "My letter to heaven" but stories and poetry from many other Mom's who have lost a child. The stories come from the inner part of a mothers heart and brought forward. The words cannot even explain the torment and grief we moms feel daily.
Joyce has done a fabulous job in putting our stories together. If you have lost a child, if you know someone who has lost a child, or if you just want to get a feel of "A Mother's Heart" you need to purchase this book. It's a keepsake. Buy it now and hold on to it. I am someone this was not suppose to happen to like many other moms who feel the same way. This book may be helpful to someone you may meet in your travels and during the journey through grief.
Blessings to Joyce in taking the time in her journey to pass this on to others.
-Paula Osipovitch...Cranbury, NJ

Like many readers, I was introduced to Gary Snyder as the character "Japhy Ryder" in Jack Kerouac's novel, "The Dharma Bums." When I found out that "Japhy", who is one of Kerouac's most memorable characters, was based on the poet Gary Snyder, I had to read his works.

This collection of Snyder's prose and poetry is an excellent introduction to the works of a man I now consider a national treasure, not just for his literary works, but as an environmentalist and natural philosopher. His prose is inspiring, revealing the ethics of a man who practices what he preaches, and his poetry is exhilarating both intellectually and spiritually. His translations from the Chinese are rendered in such a way that they are easily accessible to western readers.

I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in Snyder's works and Beat literature in general.

Gary Snyder's writing style is clever and a part of poetic history--beat. This is a different kind of poetry. It's a good read.

most of us first heard of snyder though kerouac's dharma bums. and i must confess that is why i was 1st attracted to him and his writings. but to list snyder as just another beat it not only inaccurate it does a diservice to him, his writings and his fearless intellect. snyder is not only a great poet but is also an insightful naturalist and a true zen master. this anthology is actually a zen bible for the 21st century, filled with enjoyable reading and great insights. these writings would make the soul of han shan dance, and sakyamuni smile. this is one of my favorite books. just reading it will lighten your spirit and make your soul dance with joy.

Gary Snyder's power appears to come from mountain, meandering and meditation. In this thick sampler we visit his life to age sixty-eight through notes, prose and poems. The soil of his writings range across a fire lookout station in the Cascade Range, a Japanese Zen temple, the engine room of a Pacific freighter, an audience with the Dalai Lama, work and climbs with Ginsberg, Kerouac, Lew Welch, and Nanao Sakaki, travel in Botswana and Zimbabwe with his sons. The essence of his power is nature. "Nature is not a place to visit, it is home-and within that home territory there are more familiar and less familiar places." Two sons, one Pulitzer, many other awards so far. He writes, he reads, he teaches. One hopes that he never tires of planting words in the soil that is us. If there are any legitimate Earth heroes, Gary Snyder is one.

Gary Snyder is an amazing person. He is an intellect. He is a poet. He is a teacher, a traveler, and he is a deeply spiritual man. He lives the life that we should all attempt to lead, a conscious thinking, methodical, contemplative life, asking questions arriving at conclusions and taking action.

The Gary Snyder Reader is a good compilation of his life's work, the variety inside includes essay, interview, and poetry. This book is a well rounded view of his feelings and belief's about nature, and that of the nature of the soul, the nature of man. I agree with other reviews written here about the power of Synder's writing. His is a strong voice which is able to make a terrific argument about everything from the history of the Christian church and some reasons for underlying social perils to making a call for more activism in one's own community. Make a difference, be responsible, see things for what they are, yes this is all there.

There is also the voice of pain, loss, suffering, anger, and very deep love. Above all else, one REALLY gets the feeling that Synder loves, passionately. Gary Snyder is an extremely talented writer and poet. The same voice that won the Pulitzer is still here. Do more than read and enjoy his works, read and be changed.