Review
"Even in a chat room full of people, intimate communication is not that easily uncovered; nor is it any simpler to turn back the layers necessary to distill the biological act of sex into one of making love. But, one dozen brave souls have dared to dangle their fingertips over that terrifying ledge, reaching over the abyss through their poetry and essays, in an amazing anthology called 'Almost Touching.'" -- America OnLine, Writer's Club Review, 4/97
Under the skilled editorship of Margo LaGattuta, Almost Touching: A Reader For Women And Men is a compendium of poetry and prose that is nothing short of inspiring. Whether it is used as supplemental reading by a literary studies group, or simply browsed through by those who appreciate good writing, the contributions of eleven women and men writers will reward the reader on every page. The contributors include John Milam, Linda K. Sienkiewicz, Bethany Irene Schryburt, M. J. Lord, Mike Jones, Lori Solymosi, Linda C. Anger, Karen Renaud, David Sabbaugh, Anita Elaine Page, and Polly Opsahl. These diverse writings all share a common theme: insight into the human condition. Just one laudable example is Linda Anger's "A Recipe for Hysteria": Lock all your emotion in a safe-deposit box. Tabulate the good-to-bad news ratio in the morning paper. Do ten sit-ups, eat a chocolate doughnut as reward. Stand on the bathroom scale and gasp. Don't smile, don't touch, don't laugh, don't look anyone in the eye. Read election campaign literature and convince yourself the candidates are sane. Calculate your net worth. Judge yourself against an unreachable scale of perfection. Blame everyone you know for all that's wrong in your life. Consider the worst-case scenario and know that it will happen to you. Make assumptions bout everyone you meet, and what they are thinking about you. Set your alarm clock for right now, push the "constant repeat" button. -- Midwest Book Review
About the Author
John Milam is a writer and health care worker dealing with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and other life challenges. He has heen writing professionally since 1994, and he is presently working on a book about life after Traumatic Brain Injury. His writing has appeared in "Touchstone Journal."
Bethany Irene Schryburt, a Rochester, Michigan, school bus driver, earned her BA in English at Wayne State University (Detroit) in 1995 and will soon complete an MA in Creative Writing. She is editor of "Van Dyke Quarterly," a Ford Motor Company publication. While living in Canada, she wrote and directed "Yarns to Spin," winning an Ontario Bicentennial Award in 1984. She has won Tompkins Awards for both fiction and drama from Wayne State University.
Poems by Mike Jones have appeared in "HalfTones to Jubilee," "Mohius," "Zuzu's Petals Quarterly," "The Cathartic," and other journals. He is a real estate broker, appraiser and consultant by profession, also a business owner, teacher, and father of three. He has an MA in English Literature from Oakland University and a BA in Communications and English from University of Michigan.
Linda K. Sienkiewicz has exhibited artwork and taught calligraphy in Cleveland, Ohio and in Michigan, where she now lives. She designs and sews clothing and accessories. Her poems have appeared in "Muddy River Poetry Review," "Kumquat Meringue," "The Poetic Soul."
Mary-Jo Lord has a Master's degree in counseling and works at Oakland Community College as an Academic Support Coordinator. Her writing has been printed in publications by The National Library of Poetry and The National Federation of the Blind, Writers Division. She uses the pen name M.J. Lord.
Lori Solymosi, visual artist and poet, graduated from Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, where she received the Emlen Cresson Traveling Award. The former director and founding member of The North Penn Arts Alliance in Pennsylvania, she also graduated from the University of Massachusetts Arts Extension Services in Arts Management. She teaches art to children and adults at the Birmingham Bloomfield Arts Association and exhibits in area galleries.
Karen Renaud is a mom, writer, teacher, perpetual student and local zoning official. She and her husband Jim have four children and two daughters-in-law. She owns an accounting proprietorship and co-owns Ace Controls, Inc. A member of the Clicking Bones Writer's Group, she also edits newsletters and has spent fifteen years as secretary of various boards of directors. Her writing has been published in "Speakeasy Journal," "The Blues Review" and "The Eccentric" newspapers.
Anita Elaine Page is a retired elementary school principal living in Rochester Hills, Michigan. She started writing in 1991 and has been published in "The Mature American," "Abbey," "Womenwise" and "Parnassus Literary Journal." She is a member of the United Amateur Press Association of America and has served as U.A.P.A.A. Critic for three years.
Linda Anger attended Oakland Community College and Western Michigan University, majoring in creative writing. She was editor of "Living the HAlfLife", a newsletter for the Human Awareness Institute of Michigan. She's had a love affair with poetry all her life, and her work has appeared in "la Journal Francais d'Amerique," "PhenomeNEWS," "Touchstone Journal," "Freedom Writer's Unite" and others. A member of the Clicking Bones Writer's Group, she lives with her son Ethan Flick in Auburn Hills, Michigan.
David Sabbagh has always had a predisposition for words, but it wasn't until 1992 that he started seriously writing. His prose has been published in "MetroTimes" and "Touchstone Journal." He is currently employed in the computer services field.
Polly Opsahl is a letter carrier and union activist. She began taking creative writing classes again almost twenty years after attending Michigan State University and discovered a love of poetry. She writes regularly for "New Vision," a union newsletter, and is currently serving as its editor.
