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FREEDOM OF FAITH

A moving, melodic culmination of a life of writing.

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A poet sings of the liberating power of religious devotion.

The relationship between lyrics and poetry is a complex one. Does verse sing? Is poetry like music? If so, how? Such questions will dance at the fronts of readers’ minds as they read Bernhards’ (Mixed Emotions, 2011, etc.) deeply felt collection of poetry, as so many of the pieces feel musical. The collection is a life’s work, written over decades, with some works dating back to the author’s teenage years. As the title makes clear, many poems address Bernhards’ personal relationship with God. One of the great strengths of this devotional verse is the author’s honesty as she lays bare the difficulties of faith and writes openly about the challenges of the religious life. In “The injuries,” for example, she addresses God directly: “You are special to me / Your existence cures me / So please have patience for me / The spark is still in me / I try to hold on to my forgiveness / That I will be as long as I believe / … / I love you Lord / So don’t give up on me / I need you Lord / So don’t be angry with me.” Her tone is plaintive but inviting, and her willingness to open up to her readers may compel them to open themselves up to her poetry. Most of the poems, like “The injuries,” are worthy contributions, but a few feel insufficiently developed, perhaps because they are the product of youth; “The appearance of the Lord in my life,” for instance, opens awkwardly: “When I look up in the sky / I wonder why / I ask me how / It’s all begun.” If such lines had been left out, the poet’s strengths would have been even more apparent.

A moving, melodic culmination of a life of writing.

Pub Date: April 2, 2019

ISBN: 978-1-948288-96-5

Page Count: 152

Publisher: Black Lacquer Press & Marketing

Review Posted Online: Sept. 29, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2019

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ONCE UPON A GIRL

Therapeutic, moving verse from a promising new talent.

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Keridan’s poetry testifies to the pain of love and loss—and to the possibility of healing in the aftermath.

The literary critic Geoffrey Hartman once wrote that literature—and poetry, in particular—can help us “read the wound” of trauma. That is, it can allow one to express and explain one’s deepest hurts when everyday language fails. Keridan appears to have a similar understanding of poetry. She writes in “Foreword,” the opening work of her debut collection, that “pain frequently uses words as an escape route / (oh, how I know).” Many words—and a great deal of pain—escape in this volume, but the result is healing: “the ending is happy / the beginning was horrific / so let’s start there.” The book, then, tracks the process of recovery in the wake of suffering, and often, this suffering is brought on by romantic relationships gone wrong. An early untitled poem opens, “I die a little / taking pieces of me to feed the fire / that keeps him warm / you don’t notice that it’s a slow death / when you’re disappearing little by little.” The author’s imagery here—of the self fueling the dying fire of love—is simultaneously subtle and wrenching. But the poem’s message, amplified elsewhere in the book, is clear: We go wrong if we destructively give ourselves over to others, and healing comes only when we turn our energies back to our own good. Later poems, therefore, reveal that self-definition often equals strength. The process is painful but salutary; when “you’re left unprotected / surrounded by chaos with nothing you / can depend on / except yourself / and that’s when you gather the pieces / of the life you lost / and use them to build the life you want.” The “life you want” is an elusive goal, and the author knows that the path to self-definition is fraught with peril—but her collection may give strength to those who walk it.

Therapeutic, moving verse from a promising new talent.

Pub Date: Nov. 2, 2018

ISBN: 978-1-72770-538-6

Page Count: 196

Publisher: CreateSpace

Review Posted Online: Jan. 9, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2019

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Endings

POETRY AND PROSE

Downbeat but often engaging poems and stories.

A slim volume of largely gay-themed writings with pessimistic overtones.

Poe (Simple Simon, 2013, etc.) divides this collection of six short stories and 34 poems into five sections: “Art,” “Death,” “Relationship,” “Being,” and “Reflection.” Significantly, a figurative death at the age of 7 appears in two different poems, in which the author uses the phrase “a pretended life” to refer to the idea of hiding one’s true nature and performing socially enforced gender roles. This is a well-worn trope, but it will be powerful and resonant for many who have struggled with a stigmatized identity. In a similar vein, “Imaginary Tom” presents the remnants of a faded relationship: “Now we are imaginary friends, different in each other’s thoughts, / I the burden you seek to discard, / you the lover I created from the mist of longing.” Once in a while, short story passages practically leap off of the page, such as this evocative description of a seedy establishment in Lincoln, Nebraska: “It was a dimly lit bar that smelled of rodent piss, with barstools that danced on uneven legs and made the patrons wonder if they were drunker than they thought.” In “Valéry’s Ride,” Poe examines the familial duties that often fall to unmarried and childless people, keeping them from forming meaningful bonds with others. In this story, after the double whammy of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita hits Louisiana, Valéry’s extended family needs him more than ever; readers will likely root for the gay protagonist as he makes the difficult decision to strike out on his own. Not all of Poe’s main characters are gay; the heterosexual title character in “Mrs. Calumet’s Workspace,” for instance, pursues employment in order to escape the confines of her home and a passionless marriage. Working as a bookkeeper, she attempts to carve out a space for herself, symbolized by changes in her work area. Still, this story echoes the recurring theme of lives unlived due to forces often beyond one’s control.

Downbeat but often engaging poems and stories.

Pub Date: Nov. 16, 2015

ISBN: 978-1-5168-3693-2

Page Count: 120

Publisher: CreateSpace

Review Posted Online: March 5, 2016

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