Christmas Coventry at Fool Hollow: Poetry in Solitude

Get yourself a copy and sit by the fire while you read. You won't regret it. The imagery is tangible. Makes you feel like you've been dropped into a snow-covered cabin with a view of the "rabbit tracks across white powder" and "snowflake-glazed aspens." Magical.Really can't say enough good stuff about the many haiku in this book. Each one packs a punch in such a compact way. Some are word candy that just paint a great image. Some make you stop and re-read them a few times over until the message sinks in.Several of the poems are written in a style I haven't seen before. Something the author calls "haiX" which he explains is a cross between chiasm and haiku. Those ones feel intricately crafted.I came away from my first reading really feeling the tension between the beautiful side of winter and the cold side of winter. Some of the poems make you wish that you could just be alone in nature to enjoy the beauty of the still moments. But then you're reminded of the loneliness that often accompanies the solitude and stillness. And the unifying thread seems to be that you come to know the divine in both the beauty and the sorrow. Sometimes even more in the sorrow.Fantastic.

A lovely adventure on every page. Stunning artistry in word and imagery start to finish.