A Book Of Minutes: Poems [Paperback]

Cathy Smith Bowers (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2004

A Book of Minutes is Cathy Smith Bowers' third book of poetry. The poems are in a poetic form named a "minute" which is a poem consisting of sixty syllables with a syllabic line count of 8,4,4,4— 8,4,4,4— 8,4,4,4. The form also consists of rhyming couplets. Bowers plays on this form with subtle variations. The structure of A Book of Minutes is a physical but secular metaphor of the Book of Hours, the medieval prayer book that was its age’s own version of today’s literary best-seller. The Book of Hours was arranged in accordance with the eight canonical hours of the day, beginning with Matins, moving all the way through to Vespers, and ending with Compline.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Cathy Smith Bowers is a native of South Carolina. She was a winner of the 1990 General Electric Award for Younger Writers and a South Carolina Poetry Fellowship. Her poems have appeared widely in publications such as The Altantic Monthly, The Georgia Review, Poetry, Shenandoah, The Southern Poetry Review, The Southern Review, Kenyon Review, and many others. Cathy’s first book, The Love That Ended Yesterday in Texas, was published in 1992 as the first winner of the Texas Tech University Press First-book Competition in their Poetry Award Series, subsequently named for Walt McDonald. Iris Press republished The Love That Ended Yesterday in Texas in 1997. Iris Press published Cathy’s second book, Traveling in Time of Danger, in 1999. Cathy teaches in the MFA program in Creative Writing at Queens University of Charlotte.

Product Details

• Paperback: 77 pages
• Publisher: Iris Pub Group Inc (October 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0916078582
• ISBN-13: 978-0916078584
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 4.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,323,098 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Short poems but not lightweight ones, March 10, 2005

By 

Jill (Kingston Springs, tn, United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Book Of Minutes: Poems (Paperback)

I am always struck by the gentle immediacy of Cathy Smith Bower's poetry.

These poems are in form, but they do not feel constrained. Each poem, more or less, is made of "sixty syllables in rhyming couplets with a syllabic line count of 8,4,4,4- 8,4,4,4- 8,4,4,4."

You won't be disappointed with this book--each poem will take you on an emotional journey. Something that only a very talented poet can do in such a small space.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Spend Hours with A Book of Minutes, January 28, 2005

By 

Thomas G. Lombardo (Atlanta, GA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Book Of Minutes: Poems (Paperback)

Cathy Smith Bowers' "A Book of Minutes" is the best book of poems I've read in a year. Set up like a medieval prayer book, "A Book of Minutes" put me in a meditative state as I read and re-read the poems. The form--called a minute--provides a kind of Zen repetitiveness that helps Ms. Smith Bowers slide her words into the reader's mind. What wonderful stories she has to tell, from the natural world through the human world, through happiness and sorrow! Wonderful book! I have give it as a gift to several friends who enjoy poetry.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible, as always, March 5, 2005

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Cheri A. Lehmker "eveaisling" (Tampa Bay, FL USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Book Of Minutes: Poems (Paperback)

I am always amazed by this author - if you haven't read the other books of poetry, get those now as well. You don't have to be an avid fan of poetry to enjoy Cathy Smith Bowers. She writes for everyone and says things in ways that will overwhelm and enlighten. Read these when you can laugh out loud, and weep openly.