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Distilled Lives: Volume 7
Biennial Anthology of the Illinois State Poetry Society
Co-editors: Lennart Lundh and Marjorie Rissman
Cover and Interior Design by Kathy Lohrum Cotton
138 Poems ~ 146 pages
Price: $12.00
Publisher: Kindle Direct Publishing
ISBN #: 9798333330475
To Order: Amazon.com
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Distilled Lives: Volume 7 gets its inspiration from no less a poetry luminary than Gwendolyn Brooks, who said, “Poetry is life distilled.” The Illinois State Poetry Society’s latest volume lives up to the same well-deserved reputation as its six predecessors: Stellar. From free verse to formal verse, from haiku (traditional and modern) to social commentary, to poems about faith, this book is underpriced considering the variety of ripe fruit hanging on its boughs ready to drop down.
ADVANCE PRAISE:
We should not be surprised when fine poetry springs from the grass roots of the nation. This volume brings us voices from the cities and prairies of Illinois. Members of the Illinois State Poetry Society who contributed to this anthology have presented under a single cover some of their finest work. Poets speak in a multitude of voices, all of them worth hearing. In this single book, you can sample many of those voices. I am sure they will speak to you as the poets in this book have spoken to me.
–Russell H. Strauss, Past-president of the National Federation of State Poetry Societies
In Distilled Lives, the Illinois State Poetry Society has gathered an eclectic, engaging array of diverse voices. The spirit of Gwendolyn Brroks’ words is echoed and embraced by poets who reveal the raw truths, precious moments and challenges of being human in a chaotic world. These reflections and revelations communicate openly and honestly. During these crucial times, this collection enlightens and informs. It allows the reader to experience camaraderie, community and compassion. There is a natural rhythm, an inviting cadence to the flow of perspectives and poetic contemplations that welcomes and invites the reader to view the world through the eyes of another. The most effective poems move beautifully beyond the smooth edges of normalcy and expectation to reveal the wounds and healing of the real world. Distilled Lives is a collection of poems for readers who do not see the world through rose-colored glasses but as a reflection of problems, promise and possibility. This anthology is about the art of living, the poetry of strength, grief, joy, failure and triumph.
–M. Palowski Moore, Founder/President, The Sunflower Poetry Society of Kansas, Member State of the National Federation of State Poetry Societies
ABOUT THE CO-EDITORS:
Lennart Lundh is a poet, photographer short-fictionist, and historian. His work has appeared internationally since 1965, including poetry in sixty-eight anthologies and numerous issues of more than ninety journals. Over two hundred readings of his work are archived on YouTube. Len served in Vietnam with the Navy’s Amphibious Ready Group Bravo during 1968 and 1969, and he was honorably discharged as a conscientious objector in 1970. Post-service, he earned a BA and MA in Interdisciplinary Social Sciences from Northeastern Illinois University. He and Lin, his high school sweetheart, are great-grandparents, and reside in Northeastern Illinois.
Marjorie Rissman serves on the boards of East on Central Association and Illinois State Poetry Society where she serves as treasurer of both organizations. Most recently she assisted in the editing of publications for ISPS and Highland Park Poetry. When not making bank deposits, she writes poetry, volunteers at the Moraine Township Food Pantry and for Congressman Brad Schneider who represents the 12th District. In her spare time, she likes to watch Chicago Cubs baseball games, do jigsaw puzzles and sudokus, and is addicted to The New York Times Spelling Bee game.
FROM THE BOOK:
Reading a Great Book
an Ovillejo
by Jennifer Dotson
Drama’s heart is where conflict lives.
Some narratives
consume my brain, my soul,
swallow me whole.
Stormy seas have heroines tossed
and I’m lost
Reading literature has its cost–
sleepless nights and my eyeballs burn
because there is another page to turn.
Some narratives swallow me whole and I’m lost.
In January Sun
by Mary Jo Balistreri
day cracks the lacquered gloss of night,
swallows what lingers in gray until the sky
bursts forth, ignites the gulf in indigo so fine
it unrolls like silk, undulating and stretching
as far as the eye can see. Mangroves unwrap
from shadows, thrust upward in a mantle
of forest green, and tile roofs on the hillside,
soaked in luminosity blaze a ruddy flame.
Like the separate lines of a Bach fugue,
land, sea, and sky contribute to the whole,
music expanding, tightening, overlapping,
nature’s contrapuntal conversation.
A pelican flies across the sun, agogic accent
in the morning’s baroque, observer’s cue
to enter the composition, his line as witness
as the bird effused with light, turns black.
A Dreamless Night
by William Marr
From every angle
I tried to capture your bright smiles
for a colorful dream
Overexposed
the images overlapped
and I had a sweet dark sleep
till dawn
Published in Chicago Serenade (The Cultural Institute of Solenzara, Paris, 2015) and A Dreamless Night, the Selected Chinese/English Poems of William Marr, 2021.
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