I’m thrilled to announce that my first collection I lost summer somewhere has just been published and is available at Amazon and through Kelsay Books.
Here are some of the great things my fellow poets have said about it.
“Melancholy, exuberance, nostalgia, fulfillment, contentment, longing – Sarah Russell hits all the spots, and there isn’t one poem where a woman won’t be able to identify in some way. She’s singing all our songs, putting into magical words things we felt so often but never knew how to tell. Deep sadness matched by laughter, gentleness, love and a sense of adventure. It was a privilege being there with her, living what she remembers, identifying with every line.”
Rose Mary Boehm, author of Tangents, From the Ruhr to Somewhere Near Dresden,and Peru Blues
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“Sarah Russell brings us into her world, a world of “dream-filled summer nights,” where “leaves are October butterflies.” Russell’s poems sing the important moments of life. It’s a song that stays in your mind, drawing you back to the poems again and again.”
Nina Bennett, author of Mix Tape and The House of Yearning
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“Sarah Russell’s poems don’t have to crawl under your skin – they’ve always been there. If you haven’t known a suicide, or gone through divorce or cancer, you’ve known the fear. If you’ve never had a love you’d marry twice if you had three lives, you’ve felt the longing. Russell may have lost summer somewhere, but she has found what makes us human.”
Alarie Tennille, author of Waking on the Moon and Running Counterclockwise
What a beautiful poem this is. I specially love “someday i will rise to the sun.” Gorgeous writing.
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Thanks, Sherry. Chee Chee committed suicide at age 33. I tried to form an image of his quest.
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Beautiful.. there’s space and height and melancholy… wow!
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Thanks, Rajani. Chee Chee’s story is so tragic, and I thought this painting seemed to capture his longing.
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Bless, the Swallow Child! Affecting poem, Sarah.
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Thanks, Khaya.
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May you rise above your past, my friend. I loved how eloquent this was. Amazing.
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Fortunately, not my past, but the artist’s. Thanks for stopping by.
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So compelling! And what a tragic story.
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Thanks. I thought so too, Susan. I couldn’t separate Chee Chee’s life from this painting when I wrote the poem.
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wow the journey to rise above the grief Very poignant
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Thanks, Marja. I’m not sure he ever did rise above it even after he found his mother. A brilliant artist, but a tragic life.
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What lovely and eloquent interpretation of the artist’s work, Sarah. Absolutely glorious. (And thank you for introducing me to Ted Kooser. I’m SO enjoying his poetry).
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Thanks, Bev! And if you like Kooser’s poetry (he was U.S. poet laureate), he has a column every week called American Life in Poetry. You can subscribe and you’ll get a Kooser-esque poem from an American poet. He hand picks them. http://www.americanlifeinpoetry.org. Also, don’t miss his poem about his dog. One of my favorites. He says what a dog means in a household. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/143286/death-of-a-dog
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Oh Sarah this is absolutely glorious!! I love it!
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Thanks so much, Carrie.
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really pretty and goes perfectly with the visual –
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Thanks, Beth. Sometimes poems “happen.” I love it when they do that!
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I respect the speaker’s dream. In spite of sorrow he wants to rise to the sun. He has the spirit to rise above everything. Thanks for this touching poem Sarah.
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Thank you, Sumana.
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This interacts beautifully with the painting. (K)
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Thanks a lot, Kerfe.
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The day will not come, that I will not miss my Mother. But your write is beautiful!!!
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I don’t know what Benjamin found when he finally located his mother after a lifelong quest, but it must have been tragic. He committed suicide soon afterwards. You’re so lucky to have a mother that you miss every day. I wasn’t that fortunate.
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Whew, that last stanza packs a punch, leaves me breathless.
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Thanks, Mary. Chee Chee’s story was so tragic, and his mother was the central missing figure throughout his short life. I guess I was trying to get inside his head to understand his quest, his finding her, and then his suicide.
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