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.
Shadows & Sparks is available for purchase right here at the author’s website. I cheerfully recommend it!
