Customer Reviews

Finding Water, Holding Stone

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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.

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.