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Poetry
In his long-awaited second book of poems, Quintin Prout re-invents, in the spirit of our truest poets, the common language of English speakers to meet his needs in expressing his experience. In fact, he goes as far as to re-assign words their parts of speech, as his experience requires. In his hands, the noun fatherhood becomes a verb. As is the case with so much in this world that is "assigned" (race, sex, and so on), the language on the tip of our tongue has to tell the truth that lies in the heart; thus fatherhood is not a thing but a verb, active and even transformative. Such a "reassignment" affirms our freedom to be ourselves, as poetry at its best always does, within the limits of our common language. As father and daughter interact in poem after poem, this witty, heartfelt, instructive book shows us fatherhood in action, and the lucky reader who happens on it will be grateful for its exemplary, original voice.
"Michael's book of poetry is an act of courage and of beauty. In Finding My Voice, Michael uses poems to render the experience of living with aphasia with tenderness, frustration, and eloquence. Aphasia changes our relationship to words, as both Michael and I know all too well. And yet a changed relationship is not a broken one, just like a life redirected by a singular traumatic event is not a broken one. Michael epitomizes so beautifully finding purpose in hardship, and I'm so grateful for the gift of this unforgettable collection of poems." -Gabby Giffords, former Congresswoman
"Finding My Words is a gift to the world. Michael Obel-Omia's voice is so important; it is so hard to express oneself with Aphasia. I trembled with familiarity reading many of the poems. Anyone who wants to understand aphasia-whether you have it or not-should read this book." -Debra Meyerson, PhD. Professor, Stanford University; Author of Identity Theft: Rediscovering Ourselves After Stroke
"Finding My Words is an astonishing, humbling, extraordinary and stunning collection. It speaks to the resiliency of the human spirit and should be required reading for everyone involved with the aphasia community as well as anyone with an appreciation of poetry as a means of expression. Michael Obel-Omia immerses the reader into the vortex of aphasia, challenging, teaching, and inspiring us along the way as he sheds light on this little known and often misunderstood condition." -Jerome Kaplan, MA, CCC-SLP Speech-language pathologist
In Finestra's Window, Patricia Corbus's starting point is home, where " in pearly clouds / called fog we sit / on unseen chairs / ... We stay, we go." When she goes, there are no limits to her flights, which, for example, may take her to "the vast loneliness of fledgling planets, / bitter-smelling rocks in empty rivers, / not decaying in patience like houses or bodes." Corbus, as one of her titles puts it, is an escape artist, whose flights may also carry her to radical origins, as when she falls "into God before he tought / of dividing up, back when he rolled his tongue about hismefl like a marble or sheep's eye, / before he reaised a window in himself and looked out..."
Wit and driving force, newly minted metaphors, vocabulary forged in energy, and unflappable nerve make these poems something genuinely new. Finestra's Window will be an energy source fo generations to come.
Jason E. "Jay" Walker was raised in Cranston, a suburb at the southern border of Providence, RI. He's never been interested in anything but the arts and humanities - entertaining, educating, inspiring, moving, and connecting (with) people - and everything he's done with his life is to pursue his lifelong dream of success in those fields. He was first alternate for the Providence Poetry Slam(TM) team in 1999 and has performed in and/or hosted poetry events throughout the RI area. He's also an established actor in RI independent film and semi-professional theater. He currently lives in Hopedale, MA, but he plans to one day live in warmer climes and travel the world.
