Book Title

Soul Flakes is a collection of poetry that uses the three criteria Elizabeth Bishop recommends as the markers of a good poem: accuracy, mystery and spontaneity. I have infused these three criteria into the poems in this collection. Accuracy is not literalism or pedantry; it is the ability to see and describe things as they truly are at first glance or second thought. Mystery is not profundity or spirituality; it is the ability of a poem to clear space for what couldn’t be previously anticipated, even by the poem itself - the passing thought or startling image that makes a captivated reader stop and wonder. Spontaneity is not improvisation; it is a fresh apprehension of the uneven textures of life. This is what I believe a good poem should do - be fresh and exact, be mystifying, and be innovative. This is what I mean for this collection of poems to do. So, you are holding in your hand right now a whole new way of seeing things - a whole new world of thoughts and feelings. I hope reading it will make it yours, I hope reading it will change your sense of what is possible and necessary.