{"product_id":"9780971764101","title":"A Poetry Break: Poetry for Your Pleasure","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cfont face=\"Arial\" size=\"2\"\u003eKay Day's latest collection of poetry is organized   into chapters grouped by theme.  Themes include relationships, Southern   culture, religion, philosophy, and the environment.  The poet has published   widely in a variety of print magazines such as ByLine, the magazine for writers,    and Miller's Pond, a literary magazine. Her work has also been included in   university anthologies such as Foliate Oak.\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e  \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cfont face=\"Arial\" size=\"2\"\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e \u003c\/div\u003e  \u003cdiv\u003e\u003cfont face=\"Arial\" size=\"2\"\u003eIn assembling this collection, the poet has said   that she deliberately chose poems that are accessible to a wide variety of   readers.  For instance, the first chapter consists of sonnets in the   traditional form that includes rhyme and meter.  Another chapter that   relates to the South features narratives the poet describes as \"back stories   held together by poetry.\"  In the narrative poems, most of the lines carry   a similar number of stressed syllables.  \u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e  \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cfont face=\"Arial\" size=\"2\"\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e \u003c\/div\u003e  \u003cdiv\u003e\u003cfont face=\"Arial\" size=\"2\"\u003eThe poems in A Poetry Break can be revisited time   and again.  \"This Mother's Rites\" is a very popular poem because   it explores a mother's last thoughts as her children come to tell her   goodbye. The song-like  \"Dear G.\" has been praised by poets like Steve   Kowit, and the irony in a poet's gratitude for the man who broke her heart   appeals to both genders.\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e  \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cfont face=\"Arial\" size=\"2\"\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e \u003c\/div\u003e  \u003cdiv\u003e\u003cfont face=\"Arial\" size=\"2\"\u003ePerfect for a solitary read or for reading aloud   with others, A Poetry Break is  a fine addition to a personal book shelf or   a perfect gift.  Reasonably priced, and with Author's Notes at the back,   Kay Day's book aims at putting poems back into the mainstream reader's   life.  The book also features a page of \"worthy causes,\" organizations and   Net sites that promote and publish quality poetry.\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e  \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cfont face=\"Arial\" size=\"2\"\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e \u003c\/div\u003e  \u003cdiv\u003e\u003cfont face=\"Arial\" size=\"2\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAuthor's Comments\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e  \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cfont face=\"Arial\" size=\"2\"\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003c\/div\u003e  \u003cdiv\u003e\u003cfont face=\"Arial\" size=\"2\"\u003eIn choosing poems for this collection, I considered   the people I'd met during the many readings and presentations I've done.  I   thought of the mother whose child, like my own, experienced a serious   illness.  I thought of the young college student who told me she began to   read poetry when her heart was broken, and of the policeman who explained he was   buying my second book because he was \"just plain curious about   poetry.\"  I wanted these poems to affect people much like fiction, so that   the reader wanted to keep reading.  Just telling a story wasn't enough,   however.  I wanted sound to fall on the ear in the way music does.    \u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e  \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cfont face=\"Arial\" size=\"2\"\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e \u003c\/div\u003e  \u003cdiv\u003e\u003cfont face=\"Arial\" size=\"2\"\u003eAs a poet, I am a fanatic about the makeup of each   line--the value of every word, punctuation mark, and the arrangement of the   words as well.  For me, grammar represents a tool for the poet, as   does the number of stressed syllables in a line, and forms I might use, such as   the sonnet, a form that allows 140 syllables for taking the reader on a   spiritual journey.  In speaking through these poems, I dealt with subject   matter that interests me, like the ghosts in old Southern homes and a statue of   the Virgin Mary that drew my attention and led me to sit quietly in an art   museum for hours.  One of the poems, \"Draw a Circle\" stems from my work   with an endangered species program, and another weaves the story of a young gang   of inner city boys into a song.\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e  \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cfont face=\"Arial\" size=\"2\"\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e \u003c\/div\u003e  \u003cdiv\u003e\u003cfont face=\"Arial\" size=\"2\"\u003eTo me, poetry is the purest form of writing, and   the most exacting. \u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e    \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e  \u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e          \u003ci\u003eKay Day's\u003c\/i\u003e third collection, A Poetry Break, features a full chapter of sonnets and an introduction by Ruth Daigon. Ms. Day has written articles and poetry for magazines like The Writer, Miller's Pond (print edition) , Conspire, Fairfield Review, Pif, and ForeWord. An essay on crafting poetry is included in the The Writer's Handbook, 2005. She has received awards for poetry, nonfiction, and fiction, and her work has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Her poetry has been featured on public radio, and her poems are included in anthologies like The Best of Foliate Oak, published by the University of Arkansas, Monticello. Her work is included in curriculum materials published by Englfield and Arnold. Her poetry has received favorable comments from poets like Steve Kowit and Baton Rouge's daily newspaper Book Editor.   \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e  Day presents poetry and workshops at festivals like Amelia Island's BookIsland Festival, the Southeastern Booksellers' Trade Association, and Girlfriends' Weekend in Jefferson, Texas. She speaks to civic, school, and other groups around the country. A member of American Pen Women, she serves as Florida State Poetry Association's chair for Florida's Youth Contest committee, part of the National Federation of State Poetry Societies. She is finishing a nonfiction work for 2005 to be followed by a novel in 2006.  ","brand":"Ocean Publishing FL","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47016749629680,"sku":"9780971764101","price":11.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9780971764101_p0.jpg?v=1763871374","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9780971764101","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}