Gatherings

The labor of Jans birth began at the San Francisco Opera house in a World War II blackout during the second act of Rigoletto, Jan Pierce tenor, Jans namesake, from then he has been haunted by the musical sounds and meanings of words and the silences in between them. Being nurtured in a devoutly religious but intensely artistic home his hauntings soon took the form of poetry. Despite his many academic degrees and varied professional careers, his poetry has survived as his primary personal calling. The author of five previous books: Burning Bush1985, Particles of Thought 1988 (both University Flaming Arrow Press), Ibis of Imaginings, a Poetic Diary (Editorama Poesia 1995), Loom (TELAR) in 2005 and "Suite de La Habana" in 2006 both Edicions Union (UNEAC, Cuba) in which Otterstrom recounts a peculiar poetic odyssey, as he decided to abandon the security of his business career to return to an inner home which became Havana, Cuba to discover its importance to his destiny as poet.
This book GATHERINGS (sections: PARK, LEVELS, ORDERLY ARRANGMENTS and GATHERINGS) is a collection of poems from 2006 until 2011. During this time Jan has continued to travel between Costa Rica and Cuba, having sensed a spiritual link between him and what he feels and sees in these countries. Otterstrom experiences a wide range of literary, scientific and mathematical knowledge in his poetry.