Composite Sketches

This poetry collection examines memory and awareness of what has been, where we are and where we might be going. Using wit and steering clear of sentimentality, Orfanella's poems deliver a plethora of gritty, reality-infused observations contrasted with delightful whimsy and pop-cultural references. The poet explores decades-long change across America, in his heart, and in his family with honesty and reverence. His conclusions will both startle and move the engaged reader. Lou Orfanella believes that writing is a strip-mining process in which physical, emotional, and spiritual truths are unearthed as one digs deeper and deeper into one's storehouse of memories and experiences. He is a New York based teacher and writer who holds degrees from Columbia University and Fordham University. He teaches at Western Connecticut State University and in the Valhalla, New York school district. His work has appeared nationally and regionally in such publications as Teacher Magazine, New York Teacher, English Journal, College Bound, Discoveries, The New York Daily News, World Hunger Year Magazine, WordWrights!, The Danbury News-Times, and many others.