Out of Violence into Poetry --by Margaret Randall

Nonfiction: Poetry 

ISBN: 978-1-60940-619-6

Wings Press 

September 1, 2021

132 pages

5 Stars

 

This book was my introduction to Randall’s poetry, it will not be my last of her books I will read. These poems were written from 2018 and 2021. She writes about anything—from Today Was a Good Day, “I woke up this morning / and was able to get out of bed…” to her times in Latin America, including Cuba, to the current Covid pandemic. In Pristine in Exotic Memory she takes us from nuclear bomb tests on atolls in the South Pacific to “..Trayvon, Watchful Bear, Maria,…”

 

She is a fearless poet, not hesitant to write about any subject that affects her, that is painful, that is joyful. She writes about her recurring nightmares, and I’m grateful they are hers, not mine.

 

Because Randall does not fear death, she has not been afraid to live. This is a woman I would love to meet, to sit down and share an afternoon coffee with both her and her wife, to one day call them Friends. 

Thinking About Thinking -- not quite essays --by Margaret Randall

 Nonfiction: essays, philosophy, modern history

ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1735151645

ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1735151649

Casa Urraca Press

September 7, 2021

260 pages

5 stars

 

I saw Ms. Randall at her book-launch in Albuquerque. She was launching two books, and I promised myself I would buy one and only one. By the time the launch was over both books were on their way to me. The other is a book of poetry I’m still reading.

 

I absolutely loved these not quite essays. Mini essays? She told about her times in Latin America, about coming home to the States and facing deportation by our Government. Oddly, I remember being glued to the news at that time. I had no idea until I started reading the two women were really the one. I’m delighted she wasn’t deported. 

 

She taught me some interesting history I didn’t know, wasn’t sure about, and I looked it up—she was spot on. I’d love to take a history class from her.

 

She discusses anything and just about everything she might have a thought or opinion on. From Alan Turing and the Fear of Being Different to the Silliness Gene. She tells us about becoming Elizabeth Taylor to How We Feed Ourselves. Every piece was different, and every piece made me want more. Every not quite essay taught me something, and that, ladies and gentlemen, makes the book marvelous!