Ripples of Air: Poems of Healing
by Charlotte Digregorio
330 poems in fourteen forms, 236 pages
Price: $19.95
Publisher: Artful Communicators Press
ISBN: 978-0-9912139-1-7
To Order: artfulcommunicators@icloud.com
Also available on Amazon.com


ABOUT THE BOOK:


Charlotte Digregorio’s timely new book isn’t just a collection of Digregorio’s award-
winning poems, but a reference book with essays, prose passages, and exhaustive
Appendices, which will inspire poets to write and publicize their work and events. The
collection’s 12-themed sections include: Nostalgia, Peace, Solitude, Creatures, People,
and Seasons’ Potpourri. As if this were not enough to justify the poet’s conservative
asking price, lucky readers also get a comprehensive bibliography of healing poetry
collections; multiple lists of publications that publish poetry; ideas for general
print/broadcast media that feature poets; and ideas on types of associations, organizations
and businesses that promote poets through awards, interviews, workshop engagements
and more.


ADVANCE PRAISE:

Charlotte Digregorio’s indefatigable writing packs a strong poetic punch. This award-
winning poet has the courage to face the truth about love, loss, aging, birth, death, and the
upside down nature of life—the full catastrophe. Expect to be challenged and
invigorated. Without question, Digregorio is a beneficial presence in this world, and I
have a high regard for her fresh and poignant poems.
—Robert Epstein, Psychotherapist & Author, Healing into Haiku: On Illness and Pain

Digregorio’s poetry is healing, gets you through tough times and saves lives.
—Mary Jo Balistreri, Poet& Author, Still

The bumper sticker on my car reads: “Nature: Cheaper than Therapy.” As an adjunct to
nature’s treatment plan, I would prescribe Charlotte Digregorio’s Ripples of Air: Poems
of Healing. Her imagistic poems wind through diverse relational and emotional terrain,
and never lose touch with the natural healing qualities of acceptance, wonder, gratitude,
and harmony.
—Mike Stinson, Psychotherapist, Poet and Author, extra innings


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:


Charlotte Digregorio writes of many common struggles including illness and caregiving,
but she practices joy and humor as her poems reveal. She’s published six other award-
winning books, including Haiku and Senryu: A Simple Guide for All. She’s won 56
poetry awards, was nominated for a Pushcart Prize, and was honored by the Governor of
her state for her lifelong literary achievements. Her poems have been translated into eight
languages. Her traveling poetry show is featured at libraries, hospitals, and corporate
centers. A retired professor, she gives workshops at national writers’ conferences; judges
contests; teaches poetry in public schools; and speaks professionally. Digregorio hosted a
radio poetry program, is a popular blogger on how to write and publish, and was educated
at the University of Chicago.


FROM THE BOOK:

At The Museum of Contemporary Art
by Charlotte Digregorio

Seeking quietude on a foggy day,
I visit the Museum to drift and dream,
with watercolors, collages, montages, and tapestries.
I happen upon worn scraps of metal, wire,
bits of broken glass, and splintered plastic.
Perhaps they are castaways culled from a hidden dumpster
in a deserted Chicago alley.

I visualize a sculptor in his cramped studio with a large window.
Under skies donning infinite grayness,
he watches languishing birds in autumn’s breath.
Brittle poplar branches wave in whispering wind.
His eye glimpses fluttering scarlet and gold.
Inspired hands bend, chip, and polish refuse into delicate,
shining pieces, with soothing shades.

With agile fingers, his drab finds, a reflection of our gritty lives,
become graceful art, as if by metamorphosis.
He realizes sculptures of oddly-shaped people
and animals, almost unidentifiable,
yet bearing equilibrium and harmony.
In solitude, he finds lyricism
in trifles surrounding him.

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