Customer Reviews

Jugglers and Tides: Poems

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What impresses me the most about Priscilla Orr's poems is her use of simple, every-day words to create her descriptions of people and events. In one poem, for instance, she mentions her "controlled spiral of desire" in describing her encounter with a younger man. In another, she describes the "thick-toothed linoleum clowns" of a childhood bedroom. I can immediately see and feel what she describes so simply. Sometimes her poems take me back to my own childhood;sometimes they're about scenes and people alien to my experience, e.g., her descriptions of canyons and western vegetation, but I am always easily transported to the scene or emotion she is describing.

In "Jugglers and Tides" poet Priscilla Orr lets us into the deep recesses of her life and awakens our own memories and passions. Each poem draws in the reader. I found myself sharing many of the experiences and feelings she describes. In "Silences: A Personal Narrative," she writes of her mother's death and discovering a slip of cream colored paper on which her mother had written, "The good woman is always silent." That six-word sentence shaped Orr's early life, and reminded me of my own struggle to be open to the world. Many of her poems bought my own memories back to life and provided me with new and important insights.

The poems grab you on the first page and carry you through the worlds of the poet. Priscilla takes you into her life in a very personal way and shares its peaks and valleys. It is a trip worth taking- I found myself reflecting on my own journey, Beautiful poetry to read yourself and to share with others. . .

An intimate look inside the author's soul. So open and honest I wept at her joy and pain which so clearly reflected my own. I read the book several times and passed it on to friends. This book is a treasure that needs to be shared!