Dearly --poems by Margaret Atwood

 Publisher: Ecco (November 2,2021

Language: English

Paperback: 144 pages

ISBN: 978-63032507

5 Stars

 

 

I love Margaret Atwood’s poetry. Oh, maybe not every poem in a book, but I do not dislike any poems by her that I’ve read, and I have, and have read, all her poetry books. 

 

Ms Atwood’s poetry resonates with me, perhaps because we are of an age. I think, should we ever meet, we’d find we have our senses of humor in common.

 

The first poem is “Late Poems” and she had me with her opening lines, “These are the late poems. / Most poems are late / of course: too late,” This first section is about life, and what happens when that life ages, be it feline or blizzard.

 

“Health Class (1953)” had me laughing until I hurt. OMG, I could so relate to that poem. “Girls, girls, girls, girls, girls! / Simmer down! / This is not a three-ring circus!” Oh, but surely it was. What girl who suffered that class wasn’t positive she knew more than Teacher? There is an ode to “Frida Kahlo, San Miguel, Ash Wednesday” to be followed in a couple of pages by the 8 part poem, “Songs for Murdered Sisters.” 

 

There are pages of thought-provoking loveliness in this book, poems I read, stopped, read again, stopped again, and eventually turned the page. I have a love/hate relationship with the last poem, “Blackberries” for it conjured up memories of picking blackberries with my grandma who I miss terribly, and love so much. Good memories, of us picking the self-same fruits. And the lovely last lines, “Some berries occur in sun, / but they are smaller. / It’s as I always told you: / the best ones grow in shadow.”

 

Margaret Atwood is truly a national treasure in Canada. I find many delights in the fact Canada shares her with we in the south.

Death Interrupted: How Modern Medicine is Complicating the Way We Die --by Blair Bigham, MD

 Publisher: The Walrus Books (September 20, 2022)

Language: English

Paperback: 304 pages

ISBN-13: 978-1487008543

5 Stars

 

This is a fascinating read. I had a hard time putting it down. I do most of my reading horizontal in my bed, and I’d read until my eyes burned. This is memoir of an MD who is taking on all the hard topics families, doctors, and patients face in the ER, ICU, office, and home. 

 

I remember when pronouncement of death meant your heart stopped. Then, with transfer of organs, it became when the brain died. Then with all the technology, who knows? We can be kept alive, hooked to wires, tubes, and intubation for an indefinite period of time. But do we want to live like that? If you haven’t left the proper paperwork, your family may insist. The Courts may insist you be kept alive even if you wish to be declared “dead dead.” It takes work to die on your terms, find out how, and set the plans for all to read and respect.

 

One of the things that, for me, made this book so fascinating, is Dr. Bigham admits when he is/was wrong, and what is doing to change. In other words, the doctor is admitting he is human v. so many doctors who consider themselves God.

 

If you are dying, have close friends and family who are dying, or may someday die, I heartedly recommend this book. One of the best of the genre of death and dying I’ve yet to read.

Before Your Memory Fades (Book 3 of Before the Coffee Gets Cold) --by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

 Publisher: Hanover Square Press (November 15, 2022

Language: English

Hardcover: 320 pages (small book)

ISBN-13: 978-1335429285

Stars: 5+

 

This is the third in a series. The first thing I think all who have never read any of this series needs to know is that all books stand alone. If you read them out of order, it’s alright. There might be a couple references in passing you don’t get, but not to worry.

 

There is a second coffee house in Japan that offers time travel, with the same rules, it I the Donna Donna in Hakodate, a town on Hokkaido Island, north of Tokyo. Some of the people who work at the Finucli Finucla have come to the Donna Donna to cover for the owner who is out of the country.

 

Again, there are four independent stories that are expertly tied together at the end. These are great bedtime stories for the adult kids. Guaranteed not to give you nightmares ;-) As Mikey used to say when finished with his bowl of cereal, Try it. You’ll like it. 

Knowing When --by Mark Fleisher

 Publisher: Mercury HeartLink (March 7, 2023)

Language: English

Paperback: 56 pages

ISBN-13: 978-1949652260

Stars: 5

 

 

This my third book of poetry by Mark Fleisher, the first two being Incidental Moments and Intersections. One of the reasons I dearly love the poetry of this man is his unabashed willingness to include his wife. For her help and support, but mostly just because he’s in love with her.

 

This is a chapbook of about 26 poems, beginning with “The Mystery Of It All” which begins, “Like bards and troubadours / of days long past / we roam the countryside /” Right there, I knew I would like this book. And like the bards of old, Fleisher takes us through the countryside of life, death, and all that makes us human.

 

“Bittersweet Christmas” brought tears. Even now, I’m not sure exactly how it ends, and I’ve read it several times, “Her eyes could not contain / tears that welled and a few / slowly rolled down her checks /”.  The title poem, “Knowing When”is the penultimate poem of the collection, which this reviewer thinks is too short, by several poems (possibly not yet written). This poem gives us all a tutorial on when to walk off the stage. It us up to us to recognize it.

 

I eagerly await the next book. Mr. Fleisher writes narrative poetry, stories in stanzas, stories and stanzas that will melt your heart, bring a tear or two, or a laugh or three. Knowing When is delightful.

Cheap Motels of my Youth--poems by George Bilgere

 Publisher: Rattle (January 1, 2024

Language: English

Paperback: 40 pages

ISBN-13: 978-1931307567

5 Stars

 

 

This book was a gift. The giver has my undying love! From the first poem, “Nine” which begins, “I am standing by the pop machine / at the gas station, drinking a root beer.” I was pulled in. I was nine, once, and loved root beer. I relate to this kid who brought back happy childhood memories.

 

His poem, “Daddy” really grabbed me. It begins, “Pallas Athena took my poetry course / one summer a few years back,” gave me chuckles. As a veteran of the Women’s Army Corps, I was somewhat familiar with Pallas Athena, and the mental image of her taking a poetry course under an alias, well it was a chuckle out loud moment.

 

“Insult to Injury” has one of my favorite lines ever, “…Holding a pistol / is like shaking hands / with death.” His description farther down the poem of shooting a book brought another laugh out loud.

 

This book holds many insights into how Bilgere saw his youth into adulthood, which he brings full circle with the last poem, “Salad.” It begins describing his parents in their back yard before he was born and ends with him repeating the scene in his own life.

 

These poems are accessible. No deep, hidden meaning (at least I didn’t see any), the language is understandable, the poems are easy to read, and I dare say, most if not all readers will find poems they connect with, that will bring long lost and possibly forgotten happy childhood memories in their lives, to the fore.

The Call Home by Susan Johnson

Publisher: Poetry Box (April 15, 2023

Language: English

Paperback: 42 pages

ISBN-13: 978-1956285345

5 Stars

 

 

I had the opportunity of hearing Susan Johnson read some poems from this book, and immediately ordered a copy. Usually, when I hear one or two poems from a book and then buy the book, I find those were the two poems I truly love, while the others are okay. As some of you may know, I have a nasty habit of dogearing the bottom corner of the page I love. For whatever reason I did not begin to do that while reading this book. I can honestly state my favorite poem in this book is all of them!

 

The poetry begins with “Along Scatter Creek” which begins with an epigraph of a Japanese Proverb, “The pebble in the brook secretly thinks itself a precious stone.” then goes into the poem, first line being: “And aren’t we each a pebble,” And with that first poem, first line, we are not only invited into these poems, we are expected to expand our lives, to partake of the non-calorie deserts brought to us.

 

Each poem in this book is a “precious stone” just waiting to be picked up, looked at with wonder and marvel at its beauty, then carefully put back in the creek to be found and marveled at a later date. Or put in your pocket to grace your dresser top.

 

The last poem, “Teach Me” is a call to Heron to teach Johnson, and each of us, the wonder he embodies, with the last line, “Teach me quiet consent to the call home.”

 

Johnson’s poetry is narrative, accessible, exquisite pictures painted with words. 

Persian Knots: Confessions of a Foreign Bride by R. P. Ferris

 ASIN: BOCWQRZM19

Publisher: R.P.Ferris (March 17, 2024)

Language: English

Paperback: 368 pages

ISBN-13: 979-8989909100

5 Stars

 

I had things to do yesterday. A workshop in the afternoon, a seminar in the early evening, my usual bedtime, &c. I made a gross error—I started reading this book, and about 6 hours later, I put it down. Truly, a one-sit read! Yes, I missed the workshop, the seminar, and my usual bedtime. The book is that good.

 

Persia and surrounding countries have long interested me—their culture, their foods, the lands. I now feel like I’ve been on a journey to a land, Iran, I will never have the opportunity to visit. I absolutely loved the descriptions of the country and people. I knew people who were in Iran when the Shah’s regime failed. They told me interesting stories, but Ferris brought that time  alive—the uncertainty, the fear, the emotional roller coaster. For a history buff, this book is a fascinating read. For someone who loves to travel to different lands with new and at times strange, cultures, foods, humor, this book is a calorie-free desert.

 

If you are an armchair adventurer, this book is for you. The only thing I could wish for, is that she’d put some recipes at the chapter ends. However, that one thing isn’t enough to knock the rating down from its 5 Star rating. ;-)