AFTER THE FIRE

Poetry reading gigs are hard to come by, but I spent a day recording After the Fire for an audio edition that is being published by BBC America Audio Books.  Reading those poems and the accompanying essays aloud was still a surprisingly emotional experience, even though much of the material was written over thirty years ago.  What the poetry has to say still resonates with me and, if my e-mail is any indication, with my readers as well.  Readers tell me that following my journey of love and loss has made them feel less alone in their own struggle with addiction issues, either for themselves or for someone they love.

As I worked on this annotated version of After the Fire, I was amazed by the immediacy of the various poems, by how they took me back over time.  I could remember that spring morning sitting at the Formica table in my Phoenix kitchen and writing “The Collector” while bags of unpacked groceries waited on the table beside me.  I recalled everything about that long, long New Year’s Eve vigil at my dying former husband’s bedside.  I felt once again the velvet smoothness of “Fog” as I walked through a Seattle September morning on my way to a new life.

Had it not been for a chance meeting that happened as a result of doing a poetry reading of this book at a widowed retreat, my new life would have been far different than it has been.  I’d be missing a husband, three new children, half a dozen grandchildren, several great-grandchildren and any number of dogs.  My life is far richer because of this book.  My hope is that others will find answers here as well–answers and their own share of strength and courage.