Belated Publication
Chamber of Wonders existed in almost its present form twenty years ago, cover photograph and all. I want to acknowledge and remember Judith Heins Leet, generous and multi-talented friend, who in 1999 was co-publisher in a small company. She was in the process of sending specs for my book to the printer when the partnership suddenly ended (for reasons relating to another project). The book went into my drawer for a very long rest at that point, but Judith’s advocacy and belief in my work continued to be a subliminal spur to me to get the book into the light of day. Judith left us too soon and continues to be missed.
How to Read This Book
What Is a Poem?
I take a stab at this in the epigraph to Chamber of Wonders. The poems in the book are united by the impulse of their creation. They range widely in mood, subject matter, style, and shape.
Sound
My poems rarely use end rhyme. They generally have an iambic rhythm, but they are influenced by the somewhat rougher metrics of Anglo-Saxon verse. They are rich in alliteration and assonance, consonants and vowels that echo within lines and across lines in poems.
Sonnets
My working definition of a sonnet in English is “a fourteen-line poem that shapes an argument.” Check out “Toward a Higher Order,” “The Blue Shirt,” “Another Blue Shirt.” The elegiac “Early Haying” is perhaps a more traditional embodiment of the form.
Artistic Development
I do not consider myself an experimental writer. I write when an impulse wants out. I have not been engaged in seeking novelty. What has changed and developed over the years is me, and, to a considerable extent, my skill as an editor.
Book Blurbs and Testimonials
Chamber of Wonders has none. I have been a fairly solitary writer and a very shy mixer. No one came to mind for me to approach to produce effusive statements for my back cover. I used the space for other ends. You’ll have to have your own responses.
Preview/purchase the book here.
