INTRODUCING THE POETS OF VOLUTIONS, the 2014 Savant Poetry Anthology
Posted by Daniel S. on Sunday, June 22, 2014 Under: Author Introduction
Creating VOLUTIONS, the 2014 Savant Poetry Anthology, was like assembling a self-assembling puzzle. The moment I finished final selection (over a 1,000 excellent poems were submitted) the pieces seemed to arrange themselves. For example, Leilani Madison's "Lullaby For My Mother at 103" singularly placed itself after Lonner Holden's "Upon Dying." Two, intricately crafted poems; each magically illuminating the other.
The voices of the poets, hailing from Northern and Southern California, Washington State, Hawaii, Wyoming, Ireland, and Japan, are strong and diverse, yet wholly interconnected:
Lady Mariposa, a Chola Chicana writes boldly of girlhood and family amid political turmoil.
In contrast, Helen R. Davis, in "Dans la Mémoire de Madame," recounts the memories of a Midwestern high schooler grieving a beloved teacher.
Lucretia Leong, in "Still That Girl," captures the revelation that somewhere inside us are forever the children we once were, while Suzanne Langford's "Jacaranda Cake" portrays a young identity surviving, even blossoming, despite inattention.
From Los Angeles emerged Duandino's "Blood Type," originally performed with African drummers.
K. Lauren de Bauer's homage to Seamus Heaney in "Seal of Memory" transports one to Marin County.
There are lusting bodies in Hans Brinckmann's "Love in the Indian Ocean," quite differently anguished lovers in Elsha Bohnert's "Revelation" and still another couple with a seemingly more dangerous edge in Kaethe Kauffman's "Fish Snap."
The keen social commentary in Dan Janik's "The World from an Elephant's Back" is juxtaposed with an equally biting view of the world stage through the Irish lens of C.P. Little in "The Peanut Gallery."
Finally, coming back around to socio-political commentary, the deceptively delicate "Alga Fronteriza" by Noemi Villagrana Barragan bravely aligns with the select poems of Lonner Holden and Lady Mariposa.
There's plenty more about each poet in VOLUTIONS awaiting your discovery.
I also hope you will enjoy the cover collage as much as I enjoyed creating it. My collage art is commonly described as "narrative" because it tells a story, much like the story that's told in the interweaving poems in this anthology. Each image in the cover image relates in some way to a poem in VOLUTIONS. For example, a clock ticks away the time, implicit or explicit, in all of these poems. A child appears bathed in pure white light, like the inner children many of the contributors share with their readers in this volume. Look closely and you'll find more: a sensual leg, a cross, a death-like figure. But why the central clown, you might ask? The answer is in the whole of the work. Genius, artist, poet, fool?
I commend the poets in VOLUTIONS to you for your enjoyment and, in the end, utter delight.
Sincerely,
Suzanne Langford
Editor and Contributing Poet
VOLUTIONS (Savant 2014)
The voices of the poets, hailing from Northern and Southern California, Washington State, Hawaii, Wyoming, Ireland, and Japan, are strong and diverse, yet wholly interconnected:
Lady Mariposa, a Chola Chicana writes boldly of girlhood and family amid political turmoil.
In contrast, Helen R. Davis, in "Dans la Mémoire de Madame," recounts the memories of a Midwestern high schooler grieving a beloved teacher.
Lucretia Leong, in "Still That Girl," captures the revelation that somewhere inside us are forever the children we once were, while Suzanne Langford's "Jacaranda Cake" portrays a young identity surviving, even blossoming, despite inattention.
From Los Angeles emerged Duandino's "Blood Type," originally performed with African drummers.
K. Lauren de Bauer's homage to Seamus Heaney in "Seal of Memory" transports one to Marin County.
There are lusting bodies in Hans Brinckmann's "Love in the Indian Ocean," quite differently anguished lovers in Elsha Bohnert's "Revelation" and still another couple with a seemingly more dangerous edge in Kaethe Kauffman's "Fish Snap."
The keen social commentary in Dan Janik's "The World from an Elephant's Back" is juxtaposed with an equally biting view of the world stage through the Irish lens of C.P. Little in "The Peanut Gallery."
Finally, coming back around to socio-political commentary, the deceptively delicate "Alga Fronteriza" by Noemi Villagrana Barragan bravely aligns with the select poems of Lonner Holden and Lady Mariposa.
There's plenty more about each poet in VOLUTIONS awaiting your discovery.
I also hope you will enjoy the cover collage as much as I enjoyed creating it. My collage art is commonly described as "narrative" because it tells a story, much like the story that's told in the interweaving poems in this anthology. Each image in the cover image relates in some way to a poem in VOLUTIONS. For example, a clock ticks away the time, implicit or explicit, in all of these poems. A child appears bathed in pure white light, like the inner children many of the contributors share with their readers in this volume. Look closely and you'll find more: a sensual leg, a cross, a death-like figure. But why the central clown, you might ask? The answer is in the whole of the work. Genius, artist, poet, fool?
I commend the poets in VOLUTIONS to you for your enjoyment and, in the end, utter delight.
Sincerely,
Suzanne Langford
Editor and Contributing Poet
VOLUTIONS (Savant 2014)
In : Author Introduction
Tags: poem anthology poet yearly volution delight
Get to know new and established Savant authors and what they're working on these days.
