THE ALCHEMY OF GRIEF IBD

Sinopse

This is excellently controlled craftsmanship, conveying deeply felt emotion.The grief of lossis sharply poignant and real, yet never maudlin or self-indulgent. The music of the lines issubtle and fine. The tension between the controlled craft and the poignancy of the thememakes the reader participate in the poems and feel with the poet, sharing the human despairand transcendent emotions that bring us through to survival.- Daniela Gioseffi2006 Bordighera Prize contest judgeIn her exquisite first collection of poems, Emily Ferrara reveals the unexpected power ofregeneration at the core of a grieving mother?s heart. From the initial hot coals of loss to herfinal vision of God?s force, these poems take us on a journey of transformation. Catalyzedby nature, faith, family and friendship, written in a voice that is stunning and direct, Ferraraweaves her magic with the language of poetry. These poems convince me, that in Ferrara?sskilled hands, we truly have a poetry of healing.- Richard M. BerlinTrue to its title, The Alchemy of Grief is a book of mystical transformations. The leadenweight of unthinkable loss is transmuted into the precious quicksilver of remembrance andsurvival, while the plainsong of Anglo-Saxon is translated into operatic Italian. EmilyFerrara thus shows us all that it means to be a healer: giver of life, lover despite death, andspeaker of the truth that between these we can measure only the slightest difference, whichis infinite beauty.- Rafael Campo