Observant Observing's is Marie Hanna Curran's first poetry collection. It's a book of noticing, observing behavior, questioning routine and redefining the banal. Each poem encourages the reader to pause, listen, inspect. Traits so often overlooked in life. Observant Observing's is comprised of five sections, which speak to aspects of nature, everyday objects, the four seasons, time past and present and people in social situations. (Marie Hanna Curran Observant Observings)

Observant Observings

Literature & Fiction

Curran, Marie Hanna

Poetry

Smooth Stones Press

The Last Exotic Petting Zoo is Jessica Tyner's debut poetry anthology comprised of twelve years of writing. A series of epochs, the reader is led down a spectrum of fragments in time saturated with loss, love and hope. Spanning several countries and facets of relationships, Jessica delves into the underbelly of familial strife and awakenings from a childhood with bi-racial parents to the loss of her father. Featuring glimpses into the reality of the relationship with the self, from infatuation to despite, key pieces dig in deep to the most incestuous relationship everyone has. Each piece segues seamlessly to the next, a love story told piece by piece until they become one unstoppable force-just as such stories are meant to be and always have been.

Last Exotic Petting Zoo

Tyner, Jessica

WHAT MAKES AN ALWAYS: “Our rituals, those us habits, the unimportant is what makes an always.” Making an always isn’t like making a cake. A bed in the morning. A decision, good or bad. Jessica Tyner’s sophomore book explores the makings of an always―as a noun, of course. Five has long been an auspicious number in many cultures, from the five sacred mountains of China to the high five in western countries. What Makes an Always is an exploration of five different, yet complementary, aspects of the human experience we all share at various depths and times. “The Animals of My Father” delves into the first relationship we all have: Those with our parents, a natural and wild time where many of our quirks, eccentricities, loves and fears solidify. In “The Heft of Lightness,” the examination of the body is laid out spread eagle and naked from the love/hate relationship with food to the awakening from eating disorders. “Recollection of the Training Days” is a reflection of the early years of romantic love, those ugly cry days and elations so striking you’re certain nobody, but nobody, has ever felt the same. “What Makes an Always” is what happens when love settles in that good, sweet way. Finally, “Lovely in the Strange” is a shift from ruminating on the past and risking a look forward. Our experiences are all different in their subtleties and nuances, yet a like connection holds strong. It’s that connection we all share that’s the secret recipe. That’s what makes an always. (Jessica Tyner Mehta What Makes An Always)

What Makes An Always

Mehta, Jessica Tyner

SOME KISS WE WANT:Here within the pages of Some Kiss We Want are spiritual, mystical, and prophetic poems. Dorothy Walters’ poetic pilgrimage has taken her into the realms of the Christian Mystics, Hinduism, Taoism, Buddhism, and the Abrahamic traditions. Drawing from all of these, she has created a realm of her own that is at once sacred, sensual, and meditative. These are poems that reviewers have hailed as “beautiful and profound; rich with wisdom and insight, impassioned and powerfully engaging.”Rumi, Krishnamurti, and Hildegard of Bingen would have all been welcomed at Dorothy Walters' table. Some Kiss We Want is sure to please not only lovers of poetry, but mystics, pilgrims, seekers, and anyone wedded to beauty of the ecstatic tradition.The poems in Some Kiss We Want distill a lifetime of allegiance to the Beloved Within in an alchemy of words reminiscent of Rumi, Hafiz, Kabir and others of that enduring tribe devoted to sacred poetry. These poems are transparent in construction, guiding the reader through the many stages of the mystic journey via the compelling voice of a contemporary poet. (Dorothy Walters Some Kiss We Want)

Some Kiss We Want: Poems Selected and New

Walters, Dorothy

Ms. Tyner's recall is so sensory, her imagination so rooted, her language so up front, and her sensibility so rounded, that she has no need of the merely fanciful. There is no glitz for looks here, no trading on fragility. This book will knock your socks off. ―Marvin Bell, National Book Award Winner for Poetry, Guggenheim Fellowship for Creative Arts, Winner Jessica Tyner masterfully evokes the gut-punch of human existence, wielding sharply crafted words that bound like a familiar melody threatening to bend out of tune with every revelation. ―Jared Goode, Playwright Orange is the New Musical ORYGUN takes you home, marrying confessional poetry, while tapping deep into the reader’s cravings for a full literary experience. This collection of narrative poems touch on how the landscapes that helped raise us also shape us, the intricacies of love with ourselves and others, and shared human struggles of hope and desire, as we teeter on ever-changing, emotional edges. We invite you to enjoy powerfully evocative and beautifully written poems from Jessica's third book of poetry, ORYGUN. Why ORYGUN? “It’s Ory-gun, not Ora-gone.” Native Oregonians―or those who have assimilated impressively well―have given this admonishment numerous times. How a person pronounces “Oregon” tells you if they’re a local or not. Jessica Tyner, born and raised in Oregon, grew up seeing the famous ORYGUN bumper stickers. As you meander father north towards Portland, you’ll spot a peppering of “It’s Willamette, dammit!” stickers mixed in with the requisite “Keep Portland Weird” commands. Yes, Oregon is a state thick with cities, streets and rivers with unusual, often Native American-inspired, names and pronunciations from Couch (“Cooch”) to The Dalles (not “Dallas”―that’s another city in Oregon!). For Oregonians, correct pronunciation of the gorgeously green state is more than a matter of pride. It’s a slight nod to the rich Native American history of the region, and also a bit like a secret password to a very exclusive club. (Jessica Tyner ORYGUN)

ORYGUN: Poems