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SUMMER READING CORNER
Moments and More, by Brandon Jones
Order: www.iUniverse.com,
www.amazon.com
Central
California poet-author Brandon Jones bring together his life
experiences in places like the Sierra Nevada and Italy with some of
poetry’s most beautiful themes in his new book, Moments and
More.
The tightly-woven, 84-page book, Jones’ first, draw readers into the universality of the poet’s creative process through objects familiar to our lives and culture. The works reflect Jones’ personal affinity for nature, consciousness and spiritual exploration, his balance between flights of soulful imagination and remaining grounded, and his rich background as a student and professor of literature and creative writing.
“One of the reasons for this book is that I enjoy and value poetry,” Jones said. “I hope I am contributing to the health and growth of poetry as a means of creating communal touchstones that help clarify those things in life that tickle or tear our psyche and hearts, but are often not clearly defined or understood.”
Jones creates a delightful, intimate journey that often hints at the ancient, communal paths coursing through our instincts and memories. He combines poetic prose vignettes and stanzaic poetry in a variety of settings. He stays within the rich splendor of the Central Coast and the nearby Sierra Nevada for pieces built on nature and relationship, like Seasons of Late-Day Light, Love’s Bed, Dusty Dancer and The Herd. He unveils a wealth of experiences in Italy with titles like David, Il Fiorentino Piange, God’s House and Roman Dusk, and also explores the way in which we carry our evolutionary blueprint with The Beginning, Something From Nothing, A Way Without Ways and Matters of the Heart.
One of the hidden delights in Moments and More comes from the Preface—a heart-to-heart conversation with the reader on the nature and value of poetry in a 21st century often wanting for passion and depth. “Perhaps we are compelled to seek the essence of things because the human quest is to understand ourselves, to define who we are, to comprehend the grand design, if one exists,” Jones writes. “If this is true, then poetry is one path to follow on that quest.”
