Reviewed

Antolin’s joy in home, pets and family shines through all her work with an immediacy and reverence for the ordinariness of simple things. With a shake of a tablecloth she invites us to a family picnic that is so pleasant we linger until stars appear, with white crumbs scattering to mimic the night sky and its promise of never-ending.

heading home
a pair of coyotes
circles closer

The above is an excerpt from the latest issue of Modern Haiku in which Linda Jeannette Ward’s review of my book Artichoke Season appears. When I sent my book off for review in the fall, it felt a bit like dropping my kids off on the first day of school. I couldn’t go along with them through their school day making sure everyone would be nice to them. So I parted at the door, turned away, and trusted the world would treat them well. Now I see my book has made it through the day mostly unscathed.

As I was digesting this first review of my book, I found the new issue of Frogpond in my mailbox. In a brief review of Artichoke Season, George Swede, Editor of Frogpond, calls the book an, “arresting debut collection.” I love it. Of all the adjectives I would have thought of to describe the book, “arresting” is not one of them. Now the word “arresting” swirls pleasantly around in my mind as I move through my day.