Together, the works in this collection assimilate and contemplate aspects of the classical and the modern, the serious and the humorous, the remote and the near, the natural world and the human world, the temporal and the eternal.
The variety inherent in the poems is reinforced by the original artwork of Shawn Yu-with each illustration being a unique creation having a visual and thematic bond with its poem(s).
Authors' Notes are provided for selected works to assist the reader in enjoying the poem's creative process, as well as, perhaps, understanding some of its subtleties or allusions.
The authors hope that these poems and their discussions will provide readers not only with pleasurable diversion and intellectual stimulation but also with self-reflection.
This collection of poems is not for the faint of heart, the narrow-minded, or those intimidated by the challenges of intellectual and ethical honesty. Having been composed over a period of fifty plus years, the poems engage diverse historic, cultural, and aesthetic timeframes and vary widely in subject matter, as well as in style and substance. This diversity in thought and stylistic approach provides opportunities for intellectual and emotional connection with the cynic, the devout, and the searching individual.
The reader is introduced to poems that have a personal yet boundless voice that speaks of truth, love, sadness, and death. Other poems invoke images of sight and blindness (intellectual and spiritual)-images that resonate powerfully in Greek and Shakespearean drama. This linkage of concept and imagery within a rich literary heritage provides both a universal perspective and tragic implications.
With the more modern world in mind, the reader also will encounter works that respond to socio-cultural movements and controversial events impacting both historical and current realities and values. Themes attuned to these modern issues carry unlimited underpinnings and evolve either in a serious-sad tone or a tongue-in-cheek satiric-humorous tone.