Jeanine Stevens Bücher

The wide range of subjects in Limberlost move from identity formation, love, solitude, reflection, maturity and acceptance, how an individual grows by interaction with people, places, even strangers. Poems meander, note touchstones along the way: a wartime reading, trilobite, pilgrims, tar pits, earthly strata. The sense of place is evident: Mid-west, West Coast, the Sierras, London, and Paris. Early experiences, such as "All Degrees of White," give the poet a first exposure to "white space." "Stratigraphy," "Leger," "Ship Burial," "Limberlost" and "Sifting" delve into prehistory and the exploration of origins. The idea of home, the disruption of relocation, when and how can we return are explored in "Leaving Ella," "back streets and blue notes." Partial resolve is given in "Bungalow" and "The Magpie." Memory recreated adds new perceptions, shapes and colors. Limberlost is a book resembling a rite of passage, an assemblage revealing the texture that age and wisdom bring.

Jeanine Stevens is interested in origins. Intrigued and inspired by the elusive, the edge of things and fragments, these concerns come to life in INHERITOR, which includes portraits of women: a first job, thrift stores, a bombed-out kitchen, Helen at Troy, a seedy garret and an invitation to the Aphrodite Taverna. There is also an appreciation of the sensuousness of the male body in “Kelp,” Five Nudes” and “Minotaur Surprised while Eating.” Locales include the Sierras, America’s Midwest, the Dordogne and the Aegean. The first poem, “Wintering Mushrooms,” sets the tone of the unexpected in remote places. It is evident that the author is mesmerized by Rumi and other cultures past and present. Even with war, ecological damage and poverty, beauty and desire exist. These poems give the reader insight into personal symbols, a melody perhaps, a scent, an overindulgence in figs and sardines. Follow the thread; the steppes, the savannas, the Solomons are waiting.

Tea in the Nuns' Library presents a selection of unique journeys; beginnings, detours and arrivals, where pinpointed details and events illuminate the value of experiences. This collection of meditative, lyric poems is always on the move: from the quiet politeness of a garden lunch among roses in England and a puppet performance of Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon, to Folsom Prison, the ancient Rocky mountains, and observing a coyote with a platinum tinged coat rummaging through supermarket bins in winter. Through astute observations, Jeanine Stevens reminds us that the remarkable is always around us.