Synopsis "Ampersand (Poiema Poetry)"
D.S. Martin's new poetry collection Ampersand brings together portraits & observations where the poet reflects upon artists, saints, reformers, poets, his own elderly parents, & various biblical characters--including twelve poems written for each of the twelve disciples. Ampersand--as the title suggests--brings together many disparate things, giving room for diverse reflections on human experience & the world in which we live. ""Taking his cue from the ampersand, D.S. Martin demonstrates that there is always more to discover and marvel at. Equipped with an artistic sensibility and honed poetic skills, he reaches beyond, or dips deep into, known details and finds 'new & unexpected possibilities' in subjects as diverse as Jesus' disciples, a Chagall painting, Tintern Abbey and a roadside signpost. These fresh perspectives, undergirded with precise descriptions and carried by an assured voice, will engage the reader and reward every reading."" --Sarah Klassen, author of Monstrance and The Wittenbergs ""As its title, Ampersand, suggests, this book proceeds by addition. It bountifully celebrates language, the gift God honored when he asked Adam to name the animals. On every page, Ampersand praises the very instrument of telling. I love its wonderfully inventive babble, fizz, flash and dazzle of sound as it retells biblical narratives, as it muses on places and things of this world."" --Jeanne Murray Walker, author of Helping the Morning ""Don Martin's new book connects many worlds--Christianity, art (both painting and literature), family, geography. These deeply felt poems trace the very human 'continual patterns' of 'conflict & resolution.' What underlies Ampersand is Martin's deeply held belief in waiting and persevering. We must wait and persevere, Martin wisely knows, because we are dim-sighted and 'slow to wonder.' . . . In short, Don Martin's poems illustrate the 'benefit of . . . persistent belief,' which helps us find at times the unlikely connection between the suffering soul & the astounded soul."" --Robert Cording, author of A Word in My Mouth, and Only So Far D. S. Martin is author of four poetry collections including Conspiracy of Light: Poems Inspired by the Legacy of C.S. Lewis (2013), and Poiema (2008). He is Poet-in-Residence at McMaster Divinity College. As Series Editor for the Poiema Poetry Series (Cascade Books) he has edited more than twenty collections and two recent anthologies--The Turning Aside: The Kingdom Poets Book of Contemporary Christian Poetry, and Adam, Eve, & the Riders of the Apocalypse.
