by Joanne Nelson
Reading Joanne Nelson's MY NEGLECTED GODS, a collection of poetry and essays due out in July, felt like walking through an exhibit of paintings by an artist of immense range and expression. While some of the pieces are abstract and others clear portrayals of life, most are vignettes that straddle a marvelous dreamlike line between beauty, memories and familiarity.
Through exquisite prose, the author walks us through the phases of her newly older life in which she looks among the cabinets of her childhood and treasure chests of when she had children of her own. She moves on to selling her home for simpler digs and more time to appreciate the simple richnesses in life. Walking her dogs under the Big Dipper. A cool breeze bobbling dried red maple leaves on a tree. Meditating on the floral notes of coffee.
This intimate collection possesses the author’s realistic, yet softly humorous reflections on how life flows around her. The warmth of her world made me wish for the book to go on forever.
Just breathtaking!
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BLISS ROAD, a memoir, June 2023
THE FALCON, THE WOLF AND THE HUMMINGBIRD, a historical novel, Sept. 19, 2023