Looking up a link to my themed chapbook, Catching the Send-Off Train, that was published in 2013 to share with my poetry class this afternoon, I stumbled across a beautiful review on Goodreads by a reader I don't even know. [Open hanky, commence weeping.]
"Wow! This powerful chapbook of poems, following a woman whose husband is called to duty in World War II and her son dealing with his absence, speaks of and for those left behind. Pathos without maudlin sentimentality is present in every line, making this little collection speak as if set in any war, for any family."
What a moving, unexpected experience for an author on a paperwork-clogged, rainy Monday. Our writing makes a difference in this world; never forget it! :)
By the way, this collection, called Catching the Send-off Train, is still available for free for anyone interested in reading the poems and/or using them in your classroom(s) or workshops. Kindle editions also available. With Veterans Day around the corner, this book might be just the thing. #authormoment #pinchme #writerdreammoment #thiswritinglife #writeon
Another, earlier review of the poems in this collection : “Terrific book…. Firm language, and tremendous suggestive facility with visuals. This book often tells more by what it is not directly said.”
Photo by Alfred Eisenstadt, April 1943
(first printed in LIFE, February 14, 1944)