Hills & Hollows is a genuine “country collection” like no other.  It consists of twenty-five heartfelt poems from the pens of thirteen contributors who reside in or have resided in Doddridge County in North-Central West Virginia (where, save for the bells at noon and five, time stands still as a tree beneath slumbering Aeolus). Contributors are as follows:   Olivia Bochicchio, Cleo Swiger Horton, Laureen D. Kelley, Mari McColl, Gilbert W. Neely, Judy Neely, A. L. O’Prunty, Wanda Osborne, Norma J. Owens, Frances McColl Stewart, Larry Homer Swiger, Christina Taylor, and Robert Taylor.

Hills & Hollows: A Collection of Doddridge County Poetry

Literature & Fiction

Taylor, Christina

Poetry

Middle Island Press

How much thought have you given to whether there is life after death? Some religions, like Christianity and Hinduism, posit the existence of heaven and reincarnation, while others are silent on the question. Those not guided by faith are inclined to relegate this haunting mystery to the outermost margins of their lives. In these pages, contributors from around the world have trained their poetic eye on this all-important quest. Relying on the power of intuition and creative imagination, the poets in this collection give us a glimpse into the great mystery of life after death. Suspend your skeptical mind and accompany the poets here on the adventure into the afterlife; you may not only be surprised, but forever changed. ... fragrant wind / my mother's voice calls / from beyond ~ Roberta Beary ... a deceased friend / taps me on the shoulder -- / plum blossoms falling ~ Chen-ou Liu ... "In this collection, poets share brilliant and moving glimpses of immortality and continuous renewal. To read these poems, therefore, is to accept death as the watermark on every one of life's pages. It is to feel at home in the vastness of existence." ~ Sheila Bender, Author of A New Theology: Turning to Poetry in a Time of Grief, and Founder of www.writingitreal.com ... "Epstein’s collection is a treasure pot of tiny jewels. Because haiku conveys experiences of the ineffable, it is perhaps the best vehicle for transmitting the impact of encounters with the mysteries that lie beyond the grave." ~ Julia Assante, Author of The Last Frontier: Exploring the Afterlife and Transforming Our Fear of Death

Beyond the Grave: Contemporary Afterlife Haiku

Epstein, Robert

Vignettes

Stewart, Frances McColl

A Personal Note About Chicken Train: Poems from the Arkansas Delta My hope for this collection is big. I want these poems to speak in a wholehearted way to where folks live, whether they’re from the Arkansas Delta or Timbuktu. I’ve never actually met anyone from Timbuktu. But if a Timbuktuan were to climb aboard the Chicken Train, I’m praying that the wild ride would carry him or her around the bend and more deeply into the human mystery with honesty and grace. These poems clearly stem from the Arkansas Delta, but I’ve sought to root them deeper still, in a place perhaps more figurative than literal, but nonetheless real—that universal place of longing and belonging we all yearn for called home. Praise for Chicken Train . . . Each poem is part of a greater story, a string of memories, images, and people, but mainly a strong and stirring collection 0f places—places on the map, places in the mind, places in the lost and mysterious thing we call the past, places from which we couldn’t wait to leave, and places to which we only wish we could return. Read these poems as you would signs along the highway, some quickly, some slowly, it doesn’t matter. Each one will spark your imagination or wake a forgotten memory, and suggest a direction, backward or forward, but always toward a destiny, a destination . . . a place you will recognize. --Steve Cash, Ozark Mountain Daredevils I am so grateful for your work, for this work. And it is indeed an honor to be included by the use of our lyrics. Every region of the planet has its mystery, it darkness, and its light. And every place, especially a place like the Arkansas Delta, needs its voice, its champion, and its guide. Now, for me, when I think of who I am, and where I come from, that voice will be yours. --From the Foreword by John Dillon, Ozark Mountain Daredevils

Chicken Train: Poems from the Arkansas Delta

Minchow-Proffitt, Terry

Minchow-Proffitt, Hannah

All life is precious; thus proclaimed Albert Schweitzer, the 20th century humanitarian. Yet, humans around the globe continue to daily mistreat and murder countless numbers of animals, fish, fowl and insects with reckless abandon. This must come to an end. Collectively, the contributors in this anthology, from Croatia to Indonesia, speak out poetically and passionately on behalf of ending nonhuman suffering. Join them in bringing more compassion, kindness and appreciation to our fundamental relationship with nonhuman beings, who deserve to live free of fear, enslavement, torture, violence and slaughter. Perhaps a newfound reverence for all life will become your lasting message to the world, just as Mahatma Gandhi's embodiment of nonviolence became his. crimson dusk-- the cowbells tinkling along their last journey --Shrikaanth Krishnamurti a caged chimpanzee injected with hepatitis signs hello --Allan Burns "Every Chicken, Cow, Fish, and Frog is a special compilation tribute to animals. The magical place where human and non-human animals briefly connect, and share an understanding, is here, in this powerful book." ~ Hope Bohanec, Executive Director of Compassionate Living, Projects Manager of United Poultry Concerns, and author, The Ultimate Betrayal: Is There Happy Meat? "Every Chicken, Cow, Fish, and Frog presents us with a unique, engrossing and deeply thought-provoking anthology of poetry and haiku from a global authorship for the animal- and planet-conscious reader. The subtle power of this word art will inspire many to think with greater clarity, vision and focus about some of the greatest challenges we face today." ~ Robert Grillo, Executive Director of Free from Harm, and author, From Farm to Fable: The Fictions of Our Animal-Consuming Culture

Every Chicken, Cow, Fish and Frog: Animal Rights Haiku

“Max McBride is a visionary poet. His series of poems, Tenebrae: A Memoir of Love and Death ... grapples with the death of his wife. In these poems he takes the reader on the journey that his wife endured, and he with her, in her wrenching passage from life to death. … What he has created is astonishing. There is a humanity at the core of these pieces that shakes the reader to the bone. They are moving. They are elegiac. They are celebratory … they are the human heart in a singular and authentic voice. McBride's poetry is … playful, intelligent, of the personal and the universal simultaneously … they are completely of us, for us, the world at large.” —From the Foreword by Matthew Lippman, author of The New Year of Yellow, Monkey Bars, Salami Jew, and American Chew

Tenebrae

McBride, Max

Here, published separately, is the dramatic climax of the epic sonnet cycle Plutonic Sonnets (PublishAmerica, 2008). Bracketed by lyrical love sonnets in the Elizabethan style, eighteen sonnets-mostly narrative, but in the Shakespearean form-retell the myth of Pluto and Proserpina in a new and unforgettable fashion. Beautifully packaged, this sonnet sequence glows with wry humor and subtle wisdom. Read it with pleasure; give it with pride! "What a pleasure to read . . . [Graber treats mythology] with a tongue in cheek irreverence I can respect." Poet/critic Patrick Gillespie "I was particularly taken by [Graber's] version of the tale of Proserpina and Pluto. It is lovely." --James Meyer (Amazon review) "Graber brings the sonnet back to life again" -Robert N. Taylor (Amazon review)

Pluto & Proserpina: A Modern Shakespearean Sonnet Sequence Explaining How Winter Began

Graber, Robert Bates

In The Road We’ve Traveled, writer Seth Nation will take you on a personal journey of the human condition, twenty-six individual pieces, evoking the passion of love, the grief of death, and the sweet beauty that resides with remembrance in our dreams. The Road We’ve Traveled sweeps through the uncharted territory of the human soul with works of poetry filled with hope and inspiration. The road begins with the feelings one feels when falling in love, the depths at which one’s soul aches for another, of a love known pure and ever strong with boundaries that know no end, ultimately traveling to the time when one must say that final goodbye and relief can only come in dreams. It is a collection that as a whole makes us realize how truly special life can be and collectively what makes us who we are.

The Road We've Traveled: Poems of Love and Remembrance

Nation, Seth

There is no greater gift than the gift of life. For this, we owe our parents an eternal debt of gratitude. This collection of English language haiku and related forms is a celebration of mothers and fathers. Contributors from around the globe pay homage to their dear parents as well as stepparents, in-laws, and parent substitutes like mentors. May the poets and artists here help you to count the myriad ways in which your mother and father have nurtured, supported, and enriched your world in both big and small ways. Even if things between you and your parents have been difficult at times, the poems in these pages might prompt you to open your heart, paving the way for forgiveness or reconciliation. It's never too late to take a breath, contemplate your love and appreciation, or realize - despite their human frailties - the true blessing your mother and father have been in your life.

They Gave Us Life: Celebrating Mothers, Fathers & Others in Haiku

Follow along with Little Bird as you get settled in for the night. This sweet little poem will keep the imagination burning bright. Grab some hot cocoa or tea, open the book and enjoy this cute quirky journey. (Little Bird Series, Book 1)

Little Bird, Little Bird: A Children's Poem

Children's Books

Hoots, Loni

Growing Up & Facts of Life

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Books by Middle Island Press