Böcker av Paul J Willis

From California coastal redwoods to giant sequoias in the Sierra, from practical jokes of adolescence to unexpected epiphanies marking an academic career, the many poems in Somewhere to Follow range through the life of a poet on the lookout for what comes next. In this his seventh volume of poetry, Paul Willis ascends the switchbacks of ordinary experience to cross paths with song-leading rangers, exhausted mothers, dirt-loving children, terrified immigrants, Arctic climbers, face-masked students, beatified counselors, rejected suitors, honest morticians, talking ferns, mourning crows, stinking fungi, vengeful rivers, raging fires, faithful brothers, the world''s largest pinecones, and an innocent pair of twin grandsons. Also present in these pages are the Virgin Mary, Sir Philip Sidney, George Vancouver, David Douglas, John Muir, Ernest Hemingway, and the inimitable Ruth Kerr of the Kerr Canning Jar Company. Throughout this collection, one hears Willis''s unique tone: quietly observant, worldly wise and yet still full of wonder, alert to the surprises and vistas that can only be found by striking out on your own. Take the path that each poem offers and find for yourself Somewhere to Follow.

About the Contributor(s):Paul J. Willis is Professor of English at Westmont College and a former poet laureate of Santa Barbara, California. He has published two previous volumes of poetry, Visiting Home (2008) and Rosing from the Dead (2009), along with an essay collection, Bright Shoots of Everlastingness (2005), and a fantasy novel, The Alpine Tales (2010). Learn more about the author at pauljwillis.com.

Saints and Sinners 2012: New Fiction from the Festival contains a mixture of short fiction representing many genres and styles as well as a diverse number of themes and experiences. The completely-blind, three-tier judging process that was used yield what we think is a wonderful set of stories. All of the Top Ten Stories from this year's entries have been included in this anthology. The top three stories this year explore the depth of relationships in all of their complicated and difficult forms while examining what motivates individuals and where they find comfort in a hostile world. These stories in very different ways examine how individuals make the best out of the circumstances society presents them with as well, as the myriad number of factors that affect and influence individuals' decisions to fight or to let go. The winning story, "Wasted Courage", by Jerry Rabushka is a thought-provoking tale of the unlikely relationship between two men-one white and out; the other black, married and on the down-low-and how classism, racism and homophobia work with fear and intolerance to destroy what could possibly be the best thing either man has ever had. The two runner-ups, "Pink Moon" by Pat Spears offers us a snap shot into the life of a homeless, gay Iraq War Veteran who is a failed poet and song writer and his relationship with a homeless man who despite being illiterate carries around a book, and "Wimpy and Rattlesnake Albert" by Jim Stewart which allows us a glimpse at the moment when two migrant works' lives intersect and they find comfort with in each other's stories. The remaining stories in the anthology deal with the board theme of Saints & Sinners and best represent the variety of genres, ages, genders, classes and relationship dynamics covered in the contest submissions this year.