The Alchemy of Grief [Paperback]

Emily Ferrara (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1884419895 | ISBN-13: 978-1884419898 | Publication Date: November 1, 2007

Poetry. Translated from the Italian by Sabine Pascarelli. Winner of the 2007 Bordighera Poetry Prize, Emily Ferrara's THE ALCHEMY OF GRIEF sings in the music of line with deep emotion from a mother's heart and a journey of transformation. THE ALCHEMY OF GRIEF shows Ferrara's ability as a healer through the beauty of her language. "This is excellently controlled craftsmanship, conveying deeply felt emotion. The grief of loss is sharply poignant and real, yet never maudlin or self-indulgent. The music of the lines is subtle and fine. The tension between the controlled craft and the poignancy of the theme makes the reader participate in the poems and feel with the poet, sharing the human despair and transcendent emotions that bring us through to survive" -Daniela Gioseffi.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Emily Ferrara, the 2006 winner of the Bordighera Poetry Prize, has published poems in Worcester Review, Ballard Street Poetry Journal, Family Medicine, Full Circle, Lifeboat, Lynx Eye, and several anthologies. Her poems have received awards from the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine in 2005, and from the Worcester County Poetry Association and the New Words, New Voices in 2006. The Alchemy of Grief is her first full length book. She is Assistant Professor of Family Medicine and Community Health at University of Massachusetts Medical School, where she teaches creative writing and directs the grants and special projects division for the school's Office of Medical Education.

Product Details

• Paperback: 95 pages
• Publisher: Bordighera Press (November 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1884419895
• ISBN-13: 978-1884419898
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #389,566 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A stunningly real look at pain and healing, August 20, 2009

By 

RTmischief (Worcester, MA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Alchemy of Grief (Hardcover)

This book of poems, about the author's struggle to come to terms with her grief, burned through my heart. The imagery is nakedly beautiful and harsh, at once. Reading through the selections, I felt the full range of emotions, the ransacked life of one left behind, the achingly slow progress toward regaining that life again, the surprise to find there can still be life after such agony.

The craft and artistry of these works is beyond real; its words and visions are gratingly alive in the face of death itself.

For anyone who has lost a child, for anyone who has felt the depths, this is a precious and priceless piece of work -- raw, relentless, passionate, full. Thank you, Emily Ferrara.