Sublime Planet: Celebrating Earth Day and the Universe
By Carolyn Howard-Johnson and Magdalena Ball
ISBN 9781482054705
Publisher: Compulsive Reader
Available as paperback or for e-readers on
Amazon
"I recommend
Sublime Planet particularly to those individuals who reside on this planet." ~ Suzanne Lummis, UCLA poetry instructor
Reviewed by J. R. McRae
SUBLIME PLANET, includes a section called Sacred
Lessons, Poems by Carolyn Howard-Johnson and one called Tipping Point with poems by Magdalena
Ball .
Two
very different poets, very different styles of writing, have produced a
collection united by their passion for environment, for the world that touches
their skin and imbues them with its presence with every breath they take.
This
collection, is their tribute to their world, both physical and mental, our
world.
It
is replete with flashes of insight,
forcing
myself to see
all these stories
left to grow
viral in rubbish
[from Toxic by Magdalena]
memorable
lines that linger in the soul.
Writing in my sleep, metaphors that sit on the bridge
of my nose.
[from
My
Favorite Things by Carolyn]
The
collection is sprinkled liberally with stunning images that catch and hold the
eye –
Van
Gogh brushed sea
marked
with freighters,
lights twinkling.
smudged
parentheses afar,
looming
presences up close.
[From
Malacca Strait by Carolyn]
grain
of sand in your speculation oyster
truth
taken for granted
[From
Walking Into Eternity by Magdalena]
Acerbic
or more subtly needling, comments, hit home –
Forgotten history meets trashtree
another landfill specimen
pink, fragrant, invasive
easing pangs
you wear like designer clothes.
[From
Trashtree by Magdalena]
He
unaware
he is endangered,
I unaware he might
be dangerous.
[From
The Giraffe by Carolyn]
This is a collection to be savoured in quiet moments, in
those reflective times with wine or coffee in a comfy couch.
-----
ABOUT THE REVIEWER
J.R.McRae once worked
in a circus, as a Rare-Books Librarian, as a book-reviewer, as assessment
package writer and Associate Lecturer, English Expression, for international
postgraduates, University of Queensland. Her short stories and award winning
poetry are in anthologies and
journals, like Basics of Life, 100
Stories for Queensland, Stories for Sendai, The Spirit of Poe, Trust and
Treachery, Poe-it, Quadrant, Long and Winding Road, Bound by the Secrets We
Hide, Antipodes, Social Alternatives. Her Artwork/photography features in Ripples, ABC Pool, The Mozzie and Vine Leaves. As awarded
children’s/education writer, J.R.Poulter, she has thirteen books,
eleven digital and more coming 2013/14/15. Websites: http://www.jrmcrae_subversive.weebly.com,
-----
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