As Editor-in-Chief of Savant Books and Publications LLC, Honolulu, Hawaii, publishers of significant books and enduring media for the 21st century, I am pleased to announce the release of FIRST BREATH - 2010 SAVANT ANTHOLOGY OF POEMS


This is the first in what we hope will be an annual, ongoing series of poetry anthologies. FIRST BREATH is a collection of 29 outstanding poems by ten outstanding writers and poets including:

Vietnamese-American book- and screenwriter HELEN DOAN has spent the last eight years writing feature-length screenplays. Helen is the author of the soon-to-be-released novel, ON MY BEHALF, to be published by Savant Books and Publication.

ERIN L. GEORGE is an award-winning, freelance writer from southern New Hampshire with poems and articles published in numerous journals, anthologies and magazines since 1995. Her books include DANDELION DANCE and INSIDEOUT.

Writer and editor JACK HOWARD hails from a small fishing village called Ilwaco, Washington. Trained as a lawyer, after pounding the streets as a news reporter, he served, in his second life as a post-secondary teacher in paralegal studies, English (his favorite subject), business and writing.

DANIEL S. JANIK
is Editor-in-Chief of Savant Books and Publications, is an award-winning poet with works appearing in sixteen books throughout the world. Author of FOOTPRINTS, SMILES AND LITTLE WHITE LIES, THE ILLUSTRATED MIDDLE EARTH, LAST AND FINAL HARVEST and over 60 other books and publications including UNLOCK THE GENIUS WITHIN and the popular children's book A WHALE'S TALE.

Journalist and public educator SCOTT MASTRO, author of numerous "mind-numbing incarnations too ghastly to mention," reflects his world citizenship and travels in prose and poetry.  He is the author of BLOOD MONEY - TALES FROM TWO SIDES OF THE ATLANTIC, a collection of short stories scheduled for release by Savant Books and Publications in 2010.

ZACHARY M. OLIVER, editor of FIRST BREATH, is an established poet continually searching for his niche in life. Basking in the sunshine and tradewinds of Hawaii, he is currently authoring the book, MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCE AND LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS, scheduled for release by Savant Books and Publications in 2010.

England-born artist and printmaker FRANCIS H. POWELL is a teacher of English language and literature currently living in Paris. He has numerous published poems to his credit in a variety of poetry magazines.  An avid short-story writer, he is the author of FLIGHTS OF FANTASY, a collection of short stories scheduled for release by Savant Books and Publications in 2010.

GABJIREL RA is a Belgrade-born, multimedia artis, poet and art theorist. He has published two books of poetry including POWER OF THE FALLEN ANGEL and LAST LOVERS and has contributed to many anthologies and magazines.

India-born V. BRIGHT SAIGAL, a graduate of the Indian Instute of Mass Communications is working hard to establish himself as a poet and writer.

OREST STOCCO, author of the provocative novel WHAT WOULD I SAY TODAY IF I WERE TO DIE TOMORROW was born in Italy. Currently writing from Georgian Bay, Ontario, Canada, he is authoring a second novel entitled MY UNBORN CHILD, scheduled for release by Savant Books and Publications in 2010. 

Edited by Zachary M. Oliver, FIRST BREATH, is, as its title suggests, is an eclectic collection of interesting world points-of-view expressed through poetry.

If prose is the bones, muscles and sinews, then poetry is the very soul of written works; FIRST BREATH clearly reflects that enlivened, struggling-to-escape spirit. Savant is proud to introduce these outstanding, new and established poets to the reading public.  Many are also wonderful literary authors with published or soon-to-be-released works. In an age where shorter, reflective readings are less-known and available to readers than in the past, these selected poems, I believe, each shine tall and proud. I make it a point to take a moment from my busy day and relax, enjoy, and cherish these sometimes vista-like, sometimes incisive, sometimes quirky looks at life as it truly is.

Sincerely,
Daniel S. Janik
Editor-in-Chief
Savant Books and Publications