Someone once noted that the world of childhood ends when one of two things happen. When we become aware of the presence of evil in the world. Or when we develop the ability to reflect honestly and with some degree of intelligence on the past. Both of those lines of demarcation can be clearly observed […]
“Ember Days” by Mary Gilliland
November 13, 2024 by Leave a Comment
In the calendar of certain western Christian religions — most notably the Roman Catholic and Anglican denominations — ember days are times of prayer and fasting that occur four times during the year, on the successive Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday at the beginning of the four seasons of the church year. They are intended as […]
“If Lost” by Clint Bowman
September 25, 2024 by Leave a Comment
To quote the opening lines of a Mary Chapin Carpenter song, “To be alive is to know your purpose / It’s your place in the world.” While “A Place in the World” does not rate inclusion on the playlist of songs to listen to while reading Clint Bowman’s new book, If Lost (Loblolly Press 2024), […]
“The Pearl Diver’s Daughter” by Michael Blanchard
September 10, 2024 by Leave a Comment
The Pearl Diver’s Daughter (Cloud Mountain Press 2023) by Michael David Blanchard is a collection of gently intellectual and lyrical poems which often question the place in the world for both poetry and for a poet. Filled with evocative sensory details, radiant natural images, and a frequent sense of curiosity and wonder, the poems are […]