April is poetry month, and between following poets who have been participating in NaPoWriMo, as well as the poets who show up in my normal blog feed, I’ve read a lot of poetry this month. In addition, I was thrilled to read two books of poetry this month. It’s great timing because I wanted to review two books of poetry for this monthly feature. I say monthly, now that I’ve managed to complete three months in a row. OK, enough about me, let’s get to the books.
Grief Songs: Poems of Love & Remembrance – Elizabeth Gauffreau
When I first saw the title of this wonderful book, I was hesitant. Grief is an individual thing. I wasn’t sure it was something I could read about without feeling like I was intruding. I also wasn’t sure if Liz’s grief was compatible with mine. Selfish? Indeed, grief is personal—isn’t it?
Then I realized that Liz had written about memories, feelings, and emotions we all can relate to. Maybe not the exact circumstances, but something similar. Similar enough that in seeing the photos she shared and the words she crafted, I knew. I knew what she felt, and I learned why she felt what she did. It’s beautiful.
The first time I connected with this book was when I read a line in WWII Enlistment, of her father’s joining the service.
“…the jungles of New Guinea
Grief Songs: Poems of Love & Remembrance – Elizabeth G
a damn sight better than home”
My father was in New Guinea in WWII, and while it may not have been better than home, it may have been the first time in his life that his future was under control, albeit not his control. Later pictures of a man with a pipe in his mouth reminded me of when my father smoked a pipe. A memory I had forgotten. Her book made me wish I had more photos and made me search my own memories.
The stories she shares in small poems, written in Tanka and freestyle, and the accompanying photographs paint a complete picture of scene and emotion. Liz pulled me into her world, then and now, and I think I understand.
Memories of life’s journeys, silly things. Things that meant more to parents than the children. The perceptions of parents, offset by the memories of the child. Why do we choose to remember what we do? Why do we take solace in certain moments of the past at the time of loss? I don’t know, but Liz’s beautiful, artful compilation of photos and memories is a book that will make you feel better about the profound losses in your life.
You can buy Grief Songs here. You can find Elizabeth at Amazon here. You can read her blog here.
Poetry Treasures 3: Passions – Compiled and Edited by Kaye Lynne Booth and Robbie Cheadle
One of the things I was struggling with as I began thinking about a second book of poetry to pair with the above, was who to feature. I follow a lot of poets. I follow a lot of bloggers who periodically drift into poetry. Fortunately, many of them found their way into this anthology. I found out about this collection early, when Willow Willers sent me an email telling me that she had five poems in it. When I followed the pre-order link she had included, I knew I had my second book of poetry.
I was already familiar with nine of the thirteen poets in this collection. I will add the other four to my regular reading in the very near future. I’ll tell you up front, I can’t choose a favorite. No favorite poem, no favorite poet. This anthology is like a greatest hits album. There are too many good poems in this book to choose.
One of the things that I found astounding while reading through these poems is how many things human beings can be passionate about. Love, family, grief, nature, and the world around us—sure, I got that. I expected that. Passion itself? That threw me for a loop. Not only that, but passion from the inside and the outside, if you will. A battle with passion and advice about passion. Passion for the simple things in life, life’s silly moments that remind us of people and our love for them. Passion that lies within our imagination.
Passion within our imagination is to be expected in this cohort. Authors, poets, career women, strong women. These authors invite us into their imagination through books and blog posts on a near constant basis. That’s why I knew so many—I follow their blogs—I’ve read their books—I enjoy their poetry. That Robbie and Kaye Lynne were able to round them up and assemble a collection of poems around a common theme is amazing. Amazing and so very well done.
If you don’t want to take my word for it, click into the launch series. If you scroll through the weeks’ worth of posts, you will learn about the poets, read some poems, and hear some of them read their work. It’s well worth it, even if you own the book. If you don’t own the book but are convinced that it’s wonderful and you want to buy it, click here.
All five of my current books are now available in audio book form thanks to Amazon KDP’s Virtual Voice process. The voice is AI generated, but I can honestly say, it’s pretty darn good. The audio books are reasonably priced (all below $7 US) and, if you already own the Kindle version and want to add an audio version, you can do that for $1.99. There is a five-minute sample on the book page for each book. If you’re interested, click on any of the Dreamer’s Alliance book links below the image or on the link below for my latest book.
No Facilities 
Add your thoughts or join the discussion. One relevant link is OK, more require moderation.