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author photo by Howard Romero |
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In these beautifully crafted and deeply felt poems of her second book, In
from the Dark, Susan Moss tells of much that has been lost but also
of all that remains a solace: the saving grace of memory, the world of nature,
and the continuing presence of good friends, all that allows her to come
in from the dark. About the book, Max Garland writes, “This is a book
remembrance, of the ongoing presence of the past. It’s one of those
fortunate, essential elements of poetry that the more personal the language
and imagery, the more universal and shared the response. Here is a vivid
narrative of a particular life, intensely seen and rendered. Reading this
book from start to finish the word that comes to mind is gratitude,
the gratitude of the poet for the fleeting moments, and gratitude in the
reader for the poems themselves.” Robin Chapman adds, “ In these
vivid poem portraits of family and neighborhood, Moss gives us stays against
the darkness of mortality and loneliness that we all encounter: her father
telling stories of Elizabeth Kacrunchkakite; her Grandma Gretel, ‘a
bookie, yodeler and pianist;' herself wobbling in her mother’s brown
alligator high heels; a moment when a deer ‘meets/ my stare at the
juncture when/ the thread pulls taut between bone and dust.’ ”
And this from Albert DeGenova: “Susan Moss’ new collection
In From the Dark explores the humanity and arc of meaning in the word
mortality: loss of parents, of youthful fantasy, of youth itself.
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Front cover photo: David Linsell |
Yet In From the Dark is no journey of grief: Moss finds joy, humor and beauty in memory, as well as understanding and acceptance of our human condition. Poignant and accessible, these poems speak with a gentle and wise voice. Throughout this collection poems such as ‘Going Home’ with the lines ‘Little will change with politics./Early winter hunkers in wait,’ or ‘After The Closing’ with these words: “I carry three keys on a ring – one to start/the car, another to lock my apartment,/the third to unlock what I don’t want to forget”--offer the reader a perspective to fill the heart and deepen experience.”
Susan T. Moss is the author of Keep Moving ’til the Music Stops, a chapbook published by Lily Pool (Swamp Press, 2006). Her work has appeared in Vermont Literary Review, Caduceus, After Hours, Seeding the Snow, Out of Line, A Light Breakfast, Du Page Valley Review, East on Central, and Your Daily Poem, among other publications, and also on Wordslingers (WLUW-FM). Susan has served two terms as president of the Illinois State Poetry Society and is a member of Poets Club of Chicago and Poets and Patrons. She has been awarded a writing residency at the Vermont Studio Center and holds a Master of Arts degree from Middlebury College, The Bread Loaf School of English.
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