Kirjahaku

"I revel in the genius of simplicity" Laura Foley writes as she gives us in plain-spoken but deeply lyrical moments, poems that explore a life filled with twists and turns and with many transformations. Through it all is a search for a fulfilling personal and sexual identity, a way to be most fully alive in the world. From multicultural love affairs through marriage with a much older man, through raising a family, through grief, to lesbian love affairs, Night Ringing is the portrait of a woman willing to take risks to find her own best way. And she does this with grace and wisdom. As she says: "All my life I've been swimming, not drowning." -Patricia Fargnoli, author of Winter, Duties of the Spirit, and Then, Something I love the words and white space of poetry. I love stories even more. In this collection, Laura Foley evokes stories of crystallized moments, of quiet and overpowering emotion, of bathtubs and lemon chicken. The author grows up on the pages, comes of age, and reconciles past with present. Almost. Try to put the book down between poems to savor each experience. Try, but it won't be easy. -Joni B. Cole, author of Toxic Feedback, Helping Writers Survive and Thrive Plain-spoken and spare, Laura Foley's poems in Night Ringing trace a life story through a series of brief scenes: separate, intense moments of perception, in which the speaker's focus is arrested, when a moment opens to reveal a glimpse of the larger whole. Memories of a powerful, enigmatic father, a loving but elusive mother, a much older husband, thread Foley's stories of childhood, marriage and motherhood, finally yielding to the pressure of her attention, as she constructs a series of escapes from family expectations, and moves toward a new life. In these lucid, intense poems, Foley's quiet gaze, her concentration, and emotional accuracy of detail, render this collection real as rain.-Cynthia Huntington, author of Heavenly Bodies Foley's voice rings with quiet authority undercut by calamity, examining a life so extraordinary, she seems to have lived several people's lives, setting a high bar for poetic craft she meets, in great mystery perfectly expressed in the tiny, quotidian, "spent matches pressed on wet pavement," to soulful beauty, "as wind lifts/every shining wave"; in wisdom rooted in humor, from the deliciously funny "Flunking Jung," to self-deprecating wit, misreading "poetic" as "pathetic," reminding us wisdom is love, grown from self-compassion.-April Ossmann, author of Anxious Music

It's This contemplates relationships, identity, love, loss, and radical transformation, finding acceptance, joy, and growing peace, as the speaker practices meditation, and falls more deeply in love with her wife.Employing spare, musical language and humor, and suffused with light, these vivid poems flash back to the speaker's past, as they practice empathy and compassion in the present - for self and others, across political aisles, and species. Learning to accept mortality in losing loved ones and chaplaining hospice patients, she increasingly appreciates what presence has to teach, in the woods of nature and relationships: everything we seek is already in us, in each shining moment we allow ourselves to focus wholly on everything present, the hologram of this, which is the universe, "this field of snow, where I sit alone/on a hilltop, until I think of nothing, / but light - light on snow, light/prisming ice, light on light, on light."

These supple, melodious poems address mortality with humor and wit, "smacked/ like a mackerel onto the deck/ of the unknowable," as the speaker loses family and friends, survives her own heart event and surgery, and takes care of her wife as she undergoes cancer treatment during the Coronavirus pandemic. Employing spare, vivid language, she practices appreciation, empathy and compassion-for self and others, across political aisles and species-and the acceptance of the imperfect as the perfect lesson, as welcome or necessary steps to wisdom, slipping and sliding a flash-lit, joyful, snowy way to an abiding gratitude.

Named one of seven Best Indie Poetry Books of 2019 by Kirkus. Foley's writing may appear sparse and reserved but it harbors a subtle power. The poet's greatest strength is her acute sense of observation. She possesses the ability to thread sensuousness into the fabric of everyday life. . .This is a dazzling volume of poetry that delights in crisp imagery and tender recollections.-Kirkus Reviews Eric Hoffer/Montaigne Medal FinalistEric Hoffer/da Vinci Eye FinalistEric Hoffer Book Award Honorable Mention The quest to discover why this poet does not complete a dissertation, leads to an astonishing read. This collection reveals a wide range of life-changing experiences beginning with a marriage to a hunchback Moroccan, almost twice the writer's age. Other poems express revelations and observations that arise out of travels, such as a trip to Tehran, where the poet stands on a bullet-riddled balcony watching a hurried crowd "spill Khomeini from his coffin." The signature poem unveils a suddenly busy domestic life in a second marriage with three young children and puppies. Toward the end readers experience love which results in marriage with a same-sex partner. No matter one's personal story, what makes a story great is how it is told.-The US Review of Books

Editor's Choice, The Poetry Box Chapbook Prize 2024This sage grandparent's tale begins atypically, with the birth of a special needs first grandchild, with learning to set aside anxiety, accept what is and practice gratitude, "learning to love/in sun and shade, /and finding grace." The poems make delicious meals of the joys of grandparenting, the sweetness and humor as well as the wisdom gained, the ways grandparents can learn to relax and enjoy each moment, "singing/Let It Go, Let It Go," with grandchildren, "knowing/both joy and sorrow are holy.""A tender, insightful reflection on everyday wonders of life with grandchildren."-Kirkus Reviews"Laura Foley uses just the right details to capture a grandmother's love of her three unique and remarkable grandchildren. I was absolutely charmed by this book."-Lesl a Newman, author of I Carry My Mother and I Wish My Father"The many adventures of this lively bunch will wake in the reader a palpable joy...This book is a gem-completely whole from start to finish in its wisdom, its humor, and the gift of openness."-Clyde Watson, author of Father Fox's Pennyrhymes"Laura Foley teaches us how to navigate life-but this time, in the companionship of Evelyn, Eleanor and Milo. At once funny, tender, wise and generous..."-Brooke Herter James, winner of the Fish Poetry Prize "Those who have grandchildren will resonate with the newness, the pleasure, and the ache inherent in that relationship; those who do not will wish they did."-James K. Zimmerman, author of The Further Adventures of Zen Patriarch Dōgen

A Curse...Confessing to her brother's death landed Cl ona Murphy in a mental institution. After all, it isn't possible to move things with your mind.Mere weeks after her release, she kills her next accidental victim-the mayor. Fleeing the scene and an entire town of witnesses, she stumbles through a portal to ancient Ireland-a place where she's not the only one with power.A Warrior...Trapped in this world, brothers are forced to Cl ona's aid: R an, a quiet hunter of the forest who begrudgingly saves Cl ona from death more than once, and Caolann, an admirable warrior who, when he's not trying to stab her in the heart, is plotting ways to steal it. Doesn't he know she isn't capable of love?A Trial...When learning children disappear without a trace here, the path of redemption for Cl ona's troubled past is clear now: enter the Tuatha D Danann's trials, and secure the prize-a single wish-to save the missing children. Armed with just a sword and her power, and the help of a warrior and a hunter, in order to triumph, Cl ona must embrace the darkness that claimed her brother, or risk more bloodshed.The Serpent and the Wings of Night meets Throne of Glass in Laura Foley's The Light of L nasa, an epic fantasy novel filled with magic, lore, and mystery.