My poetry debut is a collection divided into four sections.
The title section finds a poet at the banks of the River Styx. With no coins to offer Charon, The Ferryman who provides safe passage to The Underworld, he offers poems instead, on the tropes of death and resurrection, hoping this recompense will suffice.
This section is the most "speculative" and will seem most familiar to readers of my short story collections.
"La Bete Cinema" offers a unique take on our nation's fascination (some might say obsession) with film as entertainment, art form, and cultural object.
I studied film theory and criticism at Sonoma State University and composed most of these at that time. They provided a more whimsical way to present what might otherwise be a dry subject to some readers.
The poems in "The Kapu and the Mana" take the reader to Hawaii, including four "chicken skin tales" based on local legends. My trips to the islands, especially Kauai, provide the imagery for these poems but several are told through a speculative fiction writer's lens.
"Refractions" closes the collection with poems of misdirection, distortion, and skewed versions of the "ordinary."
I would love to hear from anyone either by email or commenting on this post as to your thoughts about the poems.
Click the cover above or the link below to purchase the book directly from the publisher. You can also comment here or email me if you would like to purchase a signed copy directly from me.
http://www.lulu.com/shop/george-wilhite/recompense-for-the-ferryman/paperback/product-21151956.html
