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Blessings from an Unseen World
Poems and Photographs
by Carol Alena Aronoff, Ph.D.
Paperback: 116 pages/ 71 poems/ 72 photographs
Publisher: Pelican Pond (November 7, 2013)
Blue Dolphin Publishing / P.O. Box 8 / Nevada City, CA 95959
Language: English
ISBN-10:157733275X
ISBN-13: 978-1577332756
To order online: www.bluedolphinpublishing.com/Blessings.html
Credit card orders by phone: 1-800-643-0765


About the Book:


"It is rare to discover a work of such exquisite imagery, both in its poems and its photographs.
Nothing escapes this poet’s eye: Day is a perfumed meadow with ‘violet starbursts,’ early light
as ‘morning prayer,’ even the ‘speak of crickets and worm songs.’ Night reveals ‘stars in the
basket of sky’ and the moon transformed into a ‘ewe’s horn.’ One can only dream of becoming lost
in Dr. Aronoff’s lush landscape of meditation, healing, and, ultimately, grace.”
Andrea L. Watson, Braided Lives: A Collaboration Between Artists & Poets

“The real blessing is Aronoff’s synthesis of exquisite photographs with the simple yet meaningful
imagery of nature, rain, sky, vegetation, ocean—all the same subjects that make Merwin’s poetry so
profound. But I wouldn’t expect anything less from someone who sees certainty in a tide pool, an empty
bowl as an open door. Prepare to discover new worlds! This is her best volume yet—stunning!”
Scott Wiggerman, author of Vegetables and other Relationships and editor of the Texas Poetry Calendar

“Carol Aronoff views the world through a gentle poetic lens that includes all people, all cultures, all
beliefs. In her newest book, Blessings from an Unseen World, we find her lens has become literal,
visual, photographic. Her photography reminds us that landscape is an integral part of language. We are
given entrance to a world of detail: two rocks side-by-side, a dilapidated building folded into itself,
a trail of exquisite doors. Aronoff moves from one medium to the other with ease, ‘unveiling what once
was hidden,’ allowing her readers to follow both her seen and unseen worlds.”
Colette Jonopulos, editor, Tiger’s Eye Press/Altered Crow Press

“Blessings from an Unseen World is a memorable conversation between Aronoff’s photographs and poems. In
imagery that reaches beyond physical sight, she celebrates the healing powers of the natural world.”
Laurie Kutchins, author of The Night Path and Slope of the Child Everlasting


About the Author:



Carol Alena Aronoff, Ph.D. is a psychologist, teacher and writer who co-founded SAGE, helped guide a Tibetan

Buddhist Meditation center for seven years, taught Eastern spirituality and healing practices; imagery; and

women’s health at San Francisco State University from 1983–1996. She guided Healing in Nature retreats in Hawaii

and the southwest, and had a counseling practice in Marin County for many years. She co-authored Practical

Buddhism: The Kagyu Path with Ole Nydahl in 1989 and edited five books and four meditation booklets on Tibetan

Buddhism. Dr. Aronoff published a textbook: Compassionate Healing: Eastern Perspectives in 1992 which included

two of her poems. Her award-winning poetry has appeared in many journals and anthologies. Currently, Carol Aronoff

resides in a rural area of Hawaii–working her land, meditating in nature and writing.


From the Book:


A Farmer's Field
by Carol Alena Aronoff

In the time of wind
just before the rain,
in the deep of palm frond flutter,
in that place where birds begin
their nests, in that place of dark
where poets speak,

inside the cave near white-lipped
ocean, under boulders dressed
in moss, beneath cool stars,
inside a crimson flower,
in pumpkin seeds and passion
fruit, the scent of lemon blossoms,

in far flung haunts along forgotten
alleys, in rapeseed fields, under cobbled
bridges, beneath long mountain valleys,
in the pocket of an orphaned child,
sparks of spirit rubbed together
like two stones.


 

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