Light Comes Softly

Light Comes Softly, contains 31 poems by Michael Escoubas.

Also included is Michael’s essay, Why Do I Write, which originally appeared in Episteme, an online multi-cultural journal published by Bharat College of Arts and Commerce, Badlapur, India.

Michael studied poetry and poetics for thirty years before writing for publication. After retiring from a long career in the printing industry he joined the Illinois State Poetry Society (ISPS), which has been instrumental in his growth as a poet.

Michael is grateful to his colleagues in ISPS for sharing their expertise. He offers a special thank you to fellow poets Candace Armstrong, Mary Jo Balistreri, Wilda Morris, and Barbara Robinette, who critique his poems with care and thoughtfulness.

Michael’s study of great poets includes but is not limited to Wallace Stevens, Robert Frost, T. S. Eliot and Emily Dickinson. Among more contemporary poets, W.S. Merwin, Mary Oliver, Billy Collins and Wendell Berry are among his favorites.

Michael's work appears regularly in Limited Magazine, a cultural-lifestyle publication printed and distributed in Bloomington-Normal, Illinois; Quill & Parchment (On-line); The Weekly Avocet (On-line); The Avocet (Print); Wilda Morris's Poetry Challenge (On-line); and Your Daily Poem (On-line). Michael is a past Features Editor for Whispers’ On-line Poetry Journal. His poems have won honors in competitions sponsored by various state poetry societies.

He credits his mother, Lois, for her gentle encouragement, “You have a gift for words; you should do something with that gift."