Where I live, we’ve had a crazy winter. The temperatures have been much colder than I ever remember them being here, and we’ve gotten hit with snow after snow. Heavy snow, light snow; slushy snow; swirly snow; snow covering the iced-over lake and the backyard stream; snow melting on the front stepping stones; snow dripping into icicles all along the gutters. I finally realized that the best thing about snow is being a kid, and I could go outside and be a kid for a while. And let me tell you, I found out that not much instantly lightens my heart as much as rolling down a steep, snowy hillside. How much fun is that?! I’d crawl up the hill in our back yard, have a seat, survey the yard, lie down and let ’er roll. I was giggling like a fool, uncontrolled, loose and light. Crawl up, roll down. Crawl up, roll down. Make a snow angel and shuffle around her in the pattern of sun rays, tamping down the snow so the design glows above shadows from the porch light at night. Sprint in the snow. Breathe in and let it land on your tongue. Never forget the kid in you. That kid has a lot of joy to share. And we have a lot of poetry to share! This month, Associate Editor Julie Brooks Barbour conducted a wonderful interview with poet Wesley Rothman, who shares with us poetry influenced by Frida Kahlo. Ms Barbour writes:
I love the imagery of the female body in these poems by Wesley Rothman and the voice that rages with fire throughout, like someone wildly alive. It was a pleasure not only to read these poems about Frida Kahlo but also to talk to Rothman about ekphrastic poetry, his process for these poems, as well as writing about an artist’s work while reacting to and being influenced by it.
Julie also brings work to us from two other outstanding poets. She writes:
I was thrilled to see Nicolette Wong’s poems cross my desk. I’ve admired her work as editor of A-Minor Magazine and Press, and was taken by the dark imagery of her poems. Within her lines are blades and bullets, but also living blooms. The juxtaposition of the elements in these poems made them not only live in my memory but sing within my bones.
“Nobody wanted to touch him for what made him / foreign to us,” states Duncan Campbell in his poem “The Odd Man.” Very few people want to touch the things that make life less than familiar, but Campbell’s poems don’t shy away from this dark side. They dare to imagine what we fear or guard ourselves against.
Associate Editor JP Reese also shares outstanding work with us this month, from three poets. Ms Reese writes:
When I first read “Getting Hot Out There Now It Looks Like: FOB Shank, Afghanistan” by Joanna Grant, it reminded me of the brilliant work of Brian Turner’s Phantom Noise. This poem by an author who has been to war is immediate and real. It captures a time and place no one who has not directly experienced it could possibly conjure. These words matter; they leave “images burned into the mind’s eyes.”
When I first read Jeffrey Thomson’s poems, I was overwhelmed with his deft and complex use of imagery. I set them aside, not knowing if I was joyously immersed or overwhelmed and drowning. I let the poems sit a week and read them again. This time, my experience was one of joy and gratitude for an artist who can take the written word and create something beautiful that transcends mere sense. I never read an author’s biography until I have read and judged his or her poems. Mr. Thomson is clearly a success in his chosen vocation, but his lovely words speak for themselves. Read them again and again. Enjoy.
Jenene Ravesloot’s work is immediate and real. Her pieces take slices from the city streets and fragment them onto the page. We are privy to the dark side of existence in her “Crime Blotter” poems, with a twist. These poems capture a previous time with their noir renderings of lives lived behind closed doors.
The work in the column this month is powerful, touching, and lovely. I hope you enjoy it. And remember to let the kid in you play – the joy will make your heart happy.