Lana Hechtman Ayers

The poems in Lana Hechtman Ayers' The Autobiography of Rain explore the healing powers of art and nature in a world that is as rife with grief as it is as ripe with beauty. It is in the most stricken moments that we are most open to beauty and to the concepts of life and the infinite. They're entwined, and only as we grow and finally mature, is the both-sided coin revealed. I am the moon's dark side Ayers writes as an adult pondering her-and our-place in this world. Once, she dreamt of being the horizon and now she implores, ask me about the rain. How to drink it in and in and in / and never drown.We wonder when our big moment will come as we prepare for epiphanies and actualization, but the secret truth that Ayers shares throughout The Autobiography of Rain is that big moments always come small, and every moment is available to us. We don't have to wait-Any lit wick // that brightens without / burn, suffices. Ayers is hoping that today is the day you realize it, so you can look back the next day and remember that you, said I love you to our fragile Earth, /said I love you, I love you to the universe. "Poetry" is the answer to every question Ayers ever asked, and she implores you to save yourself / in the quiet hours / one kind word at a time.

Open-hearted and unwavering, Lana Hechtman Ayer's poems of vivid imagery navigate the reader through a lifetime-a rocky childhood, self-discoveries as a young woman, the many losses of adulthood, then finally learning to anchor one's existence to beauty. These poems explore growing up with an abusive mother, attentive grandmothers, and a distant but caring father. The poet also examines the ethos of the times, bullying, and the ordeals of being female in a male-dominant culture. Giving voice to a connection with nature, the arts, creativity, and loving relationships, the collection is filled with uplifting insights. Ultimately, When All Else Fails celebrates the restorative power of poetry itself."When All Else Fails reminds us that poetry can arise from even the most difficult circumstances. Lana Hechtman Ayers takes the raw material of extreme childhood poverty and abuse and turns it into one arresting poem after another."-John Brehm, author of No Day at the Beach and The Dharma of Poetry"Ayers generously takes us along on her journey from violence and decay to a hard-earned rebirth into nature, love, and art. In the end, we too are redeemed."-Alison Luterman, author of In the Time of the Great Fires "These poems sing with joy and reverence for a world hard as agate but twice as beautiful. Ayers' work speaks to us in a vividly rich lyric voice born to be the sky's reporter, mood ring for the rain."-Paulann Petersen, Oregon Poet Laureate Emerita