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I’ve turned my focus to fiction while trying to move “author copies” off my bookshelf and into readers’ hands, With that effort, new praise for Songs Sharp & Tender has arrived. The most words for me are from non-poetry readers discovering poetry meets a suppressed hunger—poems that are not obscure but relatable. Recently we lunched with a friend of my husband from his days at Hewlett Packard—his boss. Both he and his wife were strangers to me, but I’d heard she painted. Her artistic bent made it more likely she’d enjoy poetry, I surmised. Both were very glad to receive the volume, but it was the husband who texted their reactions —his words below.
About Me:
I teach ESL, volunteer in a jail, hikes, garden, cook, and read Pursuing various geographies—cultural, physical, and spiritual—delight. My poetry appears in SLANT, Minerva Rising, The Haight Ashbury Journal, Black Fox Literary, MiGoZine, Monterey Poetry Review, The Broadkill Review, California Quarterly, New Contexts 2, 3, and 4, and Ginosko Literary, among others. I earned an MFA late in life from a low residence program from Seattle Pacific University. An independent press, Kelsay Books, released Songs Sharp and Tender, touching on travel and the choppy waves of family life while adapting to inter-cultural relationships.
Praise from an accomplished poet and university professor:
“Carol Park’s gorgeous and poignant debut collection, Songs Sharp and Tender, is a love letter to the self in relationship with others and the earth, even as it holds space for the grief and loss that always attends deep love. The poems interrogate fraught identities, personal and political, mapping out a path to wholeness and redemption. Park reflects on the vulnerability of loved ones and the joys and burdens of bearing a self into the world. Through all comes an affirmation of forgiveness and reconciliation sustaining us in a bewildering and beautiful world.” —Heathen Durr
Praise for Songs Sharp & Tender
A computer engineer and manager texted: Carol’s poetry is a heart wrenching, sharply focused, wide angled, and deep-field view of a love-filled life gleaned from a world too filled with suffering. We read a few poems a day and they are sparking many deep discussions, exactly as the best of poets do. Todd
A friend and techie wrote: Carol, we are thoroughly enjoying your poetry. It is truly the finest I have ever encountered. I won’t return the book to (my wife) unless she pleads for it back. It’s clear that you have poured your heart and soul into this work, and it shines through. The stories are deeply moving, drawing readers into the intimate and spiritual realm of your mind in a surreal manner, sharing joys and frustrations with remarkable honesty. Mike
