Poetry In the Garden

Gardens are living poems. Find a quiet spot in your "personal garden" and seek inspiration, meaning, and joy from the writings within this book.Written by California women poets, this anthology of garden poetry expresses women's special relationship with the garden and its many inhabitants. The beautiful as well as humorous is expressed in concepts of the garden that range from the Bonsai tree to the fields of Virginia. Life in a compost heap, the resolute battle with gophers and insects, and the never-ending saga of fighting weeds are among the many amusing stories told with affectionate resolve. Editor Jacqueline Bachar, inspired by the beautiful public and private gardens in California, presents a collection of original poems by individuals who range from a ten-year-old student to a great-grandmother. Some are publishing their work for the first time while others have previously published hundreds of their creations. Each finds inspiration in the garden in a uniquely personal way. "Poetry in the Garden correlates ownership and affection, and reveres those things which grow through the cycles of life. Most of the poets draw upon the nature in their gardens to speculate on the nature of life and on time passing. Ruth Adam's narrative poem, "An Inheritance," expresses nostalgia and cohesiveness that thread through generations. Lois Olsen's "Weeds" and Ruth Dement's "Rejuvenation" comment on the insistence of life. Nature is a peaceful constant and invokes a memory of the past as a result. Whether defying gophers or hailing the praises of an antique rose, all the poems relate to the restfulness that comes with tending a garden." --Heather Teeter Jacqueline Bachar is author and editor of Life on the Ohio Frontier: A Collection of Letters from Mary Lott to Deacon John Phillips (1826-1846). She spoke about Elizabeth Cady Stanton at the United Nations and received the Stanton Appreciation Award from the National Council of Women. In 2010, Bachar was named a Woman of Distinction and awarded a Certificate of Congressional Recognition from the National League of PEN Women, Palm Springs.