Poetry Reading and Book Signing at Quo Vadis Bookstore

Poetry is an oral art.

Poems come alive when we take them off the page and read them aloud, and it was a great joy to me, on December 14, to do a poetry reading and book signing at Quo Vadis bookstore in Tempe.

One of the friends who came to the reading at Quo Vadis made a comment that really made me think about why poets do what we do.

She said, “I wish I noticed things more. I just go along, and I don’t really notice.”

I know her well, and I assured her that she has a multitude of other wonderful gifts, but it moved me to think more about “noticing.”

Poets DO notice, and when we work that noticing into a poem, we invite others to notice as well.

And we are hopeful that our expressions may put into words what someone else wanted to say but couldn’t.

A poem should draw an internal “Yes!” from the reader.

Some readers will say “yes” when they recognize a familiar element from our Arizona landscape.

Others will find a new perspective on a familiar Bible narrative.

With the book in hand, I trust I can be a new voice in Christian poetry, and I hope I will be able to reach a wider circle of readers.

The book, I Weave a Song of Praise, is available for purchase at www.westbowpress.com