The Healing Power of Creative Mourning: Poems [Hardcover]

Fred Yager, Priscilla Orr, Seth Alan Barkas, Jan Yager (Author), Scott Yager (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2000

The poems in this collection deal with the universal themes of coping with illness, death, grief, loss, and bereavement. From the Preface by Fred Yager and Jan Yager: "...Creativity can help to fill the emotional void caused by a loss. It empowers you as you take that loss, whether it's because of terminal illness, death, or separation, and create something from it...But whether or not you write your own poetry, there is a cathartic benefit to reading the poems of others. they're also meant to entertain, like a good blues ballad. So sit back and enjoy the healing power of creative mourning." The collection also includes an Epilogue on coping with grief, including selected references and a list of reosurces for information or direct help, including web sites addresses. Topics included in this original collection include: coping with a miscarriage, illness and death of a father, death of a mother, a therapist, John F. Kennedy, Jr., the holidays after a loved one dies, death during the Vietnam War,and more.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Jan Yager is the author of more than a dozen books including VICTIMS, FRIENDSHIFTS, and UNTIMELY DEATH, a novel co-authored with her husband Fred Yager. She has a Ph.D. in sociology and did a year of graduate work in psychiatric art therapy. Fred Yager was a war correspondent for the Department of Defense and did an 18-month tour of duty in Vietnam during the Vietnam War.Afterwards, he worked as a reporter and entertainment writer for the Associated Press for 13 years. The author of numerous screenplays, he runs the global TV operations for an international financial services corporation. New Jersey poet and college teacher Priscilla Orr's two poems are excerpted from her collection, JUGGLERS AND TIDES (Hannacroix Creek Books, 1997). The late Seth Alan Barkas was a freelance film critic for Baltimore magazine and a freelance theatre critic for Show Business when he was tragically killed at the age of 23 from the wounds he received during a senseless, random street mugging. The poem included in this collection was written just a few months before he died. Scott Yager's poem, "When Grandpa Came Over," was written as a tribute to his grandfather and read at his grandfather's funeral. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 117 pages
• Publisher: Hannacroix Creek Books (April 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1889262463
• ISBN-13: 978-1889262468
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,550,039 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Healing Power of Creative Mourning, March 5, 2002

By 

Suzanne Vaughan (Aurora, CO United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Healing Power of Creative Mourning: Poems (Hardcover)

I read this book for the second time this week and found the poems honest and open about the pain experienced by the authors. Having lost both my parents and a brother, I found myself connecting with their feelings and dealing with my own. It inspired me to write my own thoughts and experiences surrounding death which proved to be a catalyst in my own healing.

1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing!, December 27, 2001

By 

Michigan reader (Bloomfield Hills, MI United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Healing Power of Creative Mourning: Poems (Hardcover)

I was looking for inspiration on creativity following loss, but this relatively small and very personal collection of poems was not it at all. Very disappointing, especially if you pay for the hardcover!

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Healing Power of Creative Mourning, March 5, 2002

By 

Suzanne Vaughan (Aurora, CO United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Healing Power of Creative Mourning: Poems (Hardcover)

I read this book for the second time this week and found the poems honest and open about the pain experienced by the authors. Having lost both my parents and a brother, I found myself connecting with their feelings and dealing with my own. It inspired me to write my own thoughts and experiences surrounding death which proved to be a catalyst in my own healing.