What you see are arcane foodstuffs like melons, bananas, celery and carrots — drawn from the farthest reaches of the supermarket. (Any aisle not containing meat, cheese or cookies might as well be the darkest rain forest to me.)
I absolutely enjoyed Jay Sturner’s adroit and heartfelt poetry collection, Shadows & Sparks. This new edition of his short anthology, released by Fairy Thrush Press, contains ten new poems and an eye-catching new cover by his wife, Kelly Sturner.
Jay’s talent truly shines here. (In the interest of full disclosure, I should point out that the author is a friend for whom I have great admiration, so you’ll have to forgive whatever positive bias is inevitable here.)
Shadows & Sparks is divided into three sections. “Part I: The Shadows” sees the author examining darker themes — things like frustration, existential doubt, and severed relationships. “Part II: The Sparks” is a reprieve from these musings, with the poet meditating on themes of perseverance and redemption. The final section contains Jay’s newer poems, which are drawn from a variety of motifs.
All of my favorite poems from Shadows & Sparks can be found here in the third section. “Empath” is a rather perfect short poem, I believe, and “Not a Writer” is a short poem that takes a delightful (and well deserved) jab at artificial intelligence. “Tomorrow I Hope to Dream” contains my favorite metaphor from the collection. Should you purchase this collection (which you should), you’ll see that this the “old tree” of Jay’s conception. But “Her Forces,” the poet’s ode to his great grandmother, is probably the most beautiful overall poem.
Silent Spark Press today released Virginia Poetry: An Anthology — which includes my poem “Where Would We Go?” The book includes 100 poems from poets throughout the Commonwealth, comprising “a literary journey through the state’s history, landscapes, communities, and cultural identity. From the Blue Ridge Mountains to coastal shores, the poems reflect the depth and diversity of Virginia’s poetic voices.”
You can purchase the volume directly from the publisher here:
He was wobble-running aimlessly in the open road; I pointed him out to an oncoming pickup truck. The driver slowed and moved around him, because my Roanoke neighbors are awesome.
Granted, what I did required the sheer minimum of effort that a human being can exert to help an animal. But my victories have numbered pretty few lately, so I’m taking pride in it.
