News from Blooming Grove

Joan at her piano.

Joan Siegel has also been active reading and promoting her book in her area of the Hudson Valley / Blooming Grove, NY. Here is a list of events and reviews out or to come. We believe her book, "Hyacinth for the Soul," to be noteworthy, as Joan is an accomplished writer and has gotten good endorsements from some notable people. Mary Makofske's review is archived on this blog (03/15-03/22) as well as on "The Renaissance Reader" web site PDF (link below) which also has a sample poem from the book.

Some endorsements from the cover:

These passionate, caring poems range seamlessly from personal lyric to public outcry, from a pair of well-turned pantoums of childhood memories to a poem that rewrites the liturgy of a responsive reading from the Passover service. Siegel knows how to go for the small specific details that illuminate even the darkest subjects.
—Maxine Kumin


Reading this extraordinary collection, I’m reminded of John Crowe Ransom’s statement that death “is the great subject of poetry, the most serious subject.” Within its persistent shadow, Siegel writes of love, both domestic and romantic, of the burden of human suffering, and of the regenerative powers of nature and the human spirit. And she does so with the impeccable ear of a musician and the craftsmanship of a master jeweler. This is an important book. 
—William Trowbridge

All the endorsements can be found in the earlier post in the archive for 03/08-03/15.

This new title, and all of our recent books, can be found at spdbooks by doing an advanced search and filling in only the publisher name, Deerbrook Editions, which should bring up all the titles.


"Hyacinth for the Soul" Reviews:

1) Mary Makofske review, see earlier post (3/15-3/22).

2) James Cotter review to be published in Home Planet News (#63 Fall 2009)

3) Nina Shengold review to be published in The Chronogram (July 2009)

4) Amy Berkowitz, Times Herald Record (May 17, 2009) . . . more of an interview, you can access it on-line at recordonline.

5)Lee Gould, June 29, 2009,The Chronogram

READINGS:

4/2/09 Mt. Saint Mary's College (Newburgh, NY)

4/3/09 SUNY/Orange (Middletown, NY)

4/18/09 Baby Grand Books (Warwisk, NY)

6/9/09 Moffat Library (Washingtonville, NY)

Date pending...Fall 2009...Thrall Library (Middletown, NY)

Date pending...Woodstock Poetry Society (Philip Levine, Director)...awaiting a reading date

Date Pending...(August 21) Joey's Cafe (Washingtonville, NY)