Finding Water, Holding Stone [Paperback]

James Bertolino (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 80 pages
• Publisher: WordTech Communications (April 28, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1934999555
• ISBN-13: 978-1934999554
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #875,649 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

James Bertolino grew up in Wisconsin and his work has been appearing internationally in books, magazines and anthologies for over 40 years. Bertolino's poetry has been recognized nationally by the Book-of-the-Month Club Poetry Fellowship, the Discovery Award, a Hart Crane publication award, a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship, two Quarterly Review of Literature book awards and, in 2007, the Jeanne Lohmann Poetry Prize for Washington State Poets. His books have been issued by such publishers as Copper Canyon Press, Carnegie Mellon University Press, New Rivers Press, Ithaca House and the QRL Award Series at Princeton University. Two of his out-of-print books have been reprinted online by the Connecticut College Contemporary American Poetry Archive. He has served as poetry editor for Epoch, and founding editor of Abraxas magazine and press, as well as Cincinnati Poetry Review. For over 20 years he published books by poets under the Stone Marrow Press imprint. He holds an MFA from Cornell University and taught creative writing at Cornell, Washington State, University of Cincinnati and Western Washington University. For the 2005-06 academic year he was Writer-in-Residence and Hallie Ford Chair of Creative Writing at Willamette University in Oregon. He has since retired and lives on five rural acres with Anita K. Boyle near Bellingham, Washington.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finding Water, Holding Stone,, June 25, 2009

By 

Christopher J. Jarmick "Word Lover" (Seattle, Wa. USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Finding Water, Holding Stone (Paperback)

Bertolino's masterful command of language, literary devices, and subtle internal rhymes make most poems in this collection as smooth and accessible as a Motown classic by Smokey Robinson. Nothing here has been over-worked into literary or academic obscurity.

I love Bertolino's insistence on clear concise communication. Read IN THE KITCHEN and you'll understand from the first strophe : `he overheard her saying something that sounded like `best dancer' how his dry wit, deepens the meaning and emotions of a poem without being too smart for the room.

I was not expecting that I would passionately enjoy most of the deceptively quiet poems in Bertolino's latest collection. I knew there would be meticulously crafted, constructed poetry by the former creative writing teacher. I was sure several poems would reveal his dry, wry sense of humor. I knew I would find a favorite or two that I would want to have a copy of; such as Bloodying August Polito's Nose.. . but I was not expecting to enjoy all 50 of the poems in this 80 page collection. After all, Bertolino has been publishing his poetry for over 40 years with about 10 books and 15 chap books to his credit. How much `good stuff' does this Whacom Country resident have in him?

The collection begins with The Path of Water and a quote from Ursula LeGuin: ` Nothing can make water better.' ; and ends with a poem comparing the sun breaking through a cloud with the unbuttoning of a ladies white blouse. In between, the words are the water we drink for survival and for pleasure. We taste, we savor. The water flows, the stones we hold.

There's no filler or laziness to be found on any page of this collection. I have at least a dozen favorites from the book and about three dozen runner ups. Pick up a copy of Finding Water, Holding Stone, and I suspect you'll be spending an afternoon in the near future, savoring Bertolino.

5.0 out of 5 stars A truly unique experience that blends many different things, May 14, 2010

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Finding Water, Holding Stone (Paperback)

There is a certain serenity to the movement of nature. "Finding Water, Holding Stone" is a collection of poetry from James Bertolino, Aiming for smooth thoughts and words to create a truly unique experience that blends many different things, "Finding Water, Holding Stone" is a top pick. "Having Stone": There's a story that the Samurai/would test a new sword by slicing/ a criminal's body in half//One doomed man was said to have quipped: "Wish I had/swallowed a stone for my breakfast!"//Having stone at the heart is expecting/the sword, is wanting that brief/satisfaction in blunting an edge.