Balancing Acts [Paperback]

Rochelle Ratner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 28, 2006

The prose poems in Balancing Acts straddle the delicate borders between fiction and poetry, memoir and fantasy, reality and illusion. The arrangement of poems chronicles the growth of one woman or a mythic Everywoman, from early childhood through adulthood and all that entails: school, love, marriage, and finally the mother's death and impending death of the father.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Rochelle Ratner explores the forgotten corners of one's life, the bits of nourishment one finds but is not given, or is given only to hunger for more... The effect of this narrative in prose poems is unsettling, as if the cobwebs in the corners of our own lives had been pulled aside. --Jessica Treat

In writing as in life, this poet seems to have no use for undue exuberance but is plainly too strong to let herself get bogged down in the maudlin... The result is honest and unaffected writing refreshingly free of the self-conscious angst that mars the writing of some of her colleagues. --Library Journal

About the Author

Rochelle Ratner is a poet, fiction writer, critic, and editor. Her books include two novels: Bobby's Girl (Coffee House Press, 1986) and The Lion's Share (Coffee House Press, 1991) and sixteen poetry books, including Beggars at the Wall (Ikon Books, 2006) and House and Home (Marsh Hawk Press, 2003). A strong Internet presence, her e-books include chapbooks from Tamafyhr Mountain Poetry and xPressed. An issue of the Internet zine Sugar Mule was devoted to her writing and an exploration of her writing by others. Hide & Seek, an original poem-photo series based on the limited-edition poetry volume, is posted on the Light and Dust website. An anthology she edited, Bearing Life: Women s Writings on Childlessness, was published in January 2000 by The Feminist Press. From 1979 2006 she was Executive Editor of American Book Review, and she continues to serve as a Contributing Editor for that publication. She s been teaching writing workshops in senior centers and hospitals since the early 1970s. More information and links to her writing on the Internet can be found on her homepage: www.rochelleratner.com.

Product Details

• Paperback: 102 pages
• Publisher: Marsh Hawk Press (September 28, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0978555503
• ISBN-13: 978-0978555504
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.3 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,858,198 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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