This debut poetry collection is a breathtaking array of poems, wisdom, reflection, and all that comes in between. The sections are perfectly placed, providing interludes that allow for breath and temporary relief, needed because of the powerful themes, images, word choices. The poems in some conditions apply delight in the power of art to transmute pain through beauty. They observe, question, laugh, and weep. The collection is structured in four untitled sections to enable readers to project their own meanings. Meaning is accessible but sometimes also intentionally layered and ambiguous, urging readers to let the poems “be” and not “mean,” as per Archibald MacLeish. Poetic forms, dictated by the idiosyncratic nature of the poems, don’t represent all possible forms and don’t adhere to standard conventions. The poetic style is modernistic, conventional, and influenced by (and even includes) song lyrics. The poems speak deep, resonant truths and are infused with the poet's experience of music and music therapy, attesting to the power of beauty to transform even the most painful of experiences.

Mary Rykov is a Toronto writer, editor, educator, and music therapist-researcher. She holds a PhD in Adult Education (OISE/UT 2006) and an MA in Music Therapy (NYU 1995). Her poems and essays appear in numerous print and web venues. She serves as proofreader on the Pulp Literature masthead and freelances as a writing mentor and editor in multiple genres. When not playing with words or music, she is a voracious knitter and ardent dandelion enthusiast, cyclist, and foodie.

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