Poetic Book Tours: Paradise Drive by Rebecca Foust

Foust has won the 2015 American Literary Review Creative Writing Award for Fiction judged by Garth Greenwell and the 2015 James Heart Poetry Prize judged by Jane Hirshfield. 

MEET PILGRIM

on-the-wane, children grown and gone.

Who, voice-trained from birth in desire,

wakes one morning wanting—nothing—

in 
Foust has won the 2015 American Literary Review Creative Writing Award for Fiction judged by Garth Greenwell and the 2015 James Heart Poetry Prize judged by Jane Hirshfield. the way of things. Wanting some not-thing

not quite not-seen. Her dreams

—Macy’s-parade-balloon-sized dreams—

now lie, a tangle of downed silk and line.

Waist-deep in bright ruin, she labors to sing,

wondering if wanting is, after all, all

there is. Somewhere far away old ice recedes;

somewhere new wars combust. Here, rain is rare

and Pilgrim sings her scales to the dust.

House of no children, guest room of no guest;

no god or guide, a broken song. Her quest.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Title: Paradise Drive
Author: Rebecca Foust
ISBN: 9781941209165
Publisher: Press 53/2015
Pages: 114

I have a deep seated love for Sonnets. I have written a lot. Reading Rebecca Foust was a pleasure. Her sonnets deal with the 21st Century issues. Very contemporary and hits the gut. The Pilgrim's journey has just begun. The quest, the questions, the path and how to define oneself in this modern era....

Contemplating the sonnets, one can hear the music, understand the irony, the humour, the perception.

She covers terrorism, autism, divorce, birth, war, drugs.....I never could think of Sonnets in the modern context. There I was sitting, reading the sonnets, and thinking about that eternal search of truth the poet has tried to find for herself and for us, the reader. There is darkness, yet there is light. In many ways, I could identify myself with The Pilgrim.....

Filled with vivid imagery, descriptions, sensuality, deep thoughts, the language is simply beautiful. The references are very meaningful and give us great insights into each of the sonnets.

I recommend this book to those who love sonnets, poetry and also those who try to experiment in their reading...