Joseph Whitson

Stone and Ice Joseph Whitson

As stone and ice shape the Sierra, forces at work in our own lives shape and transition the way we act and think. These forces-influential persons, spiritual or career junctures, or life-altering events-affect our present moments and futures. Stone and Ice, a collection of poems, describes and examines junctures and events through the eyes and mind of a genuine explorer. Poet Joseph Whitson's perspective of his surroundings, of people in his life and of specific events derives from a mix of his educational background in the sciences and his interests in backpacking, climbing, mountaineering and other adventures. The center of town becomes: Buildings pushed up from the groundIn distorted contrivances of the earth, Persons at corners like billboardsWith something to sell, gurglingWith the noise of the anger-this city. Poems of adventures transition into explorations of the awesome forces of nature or of the awesome powers of other persons. Quiet Sundays become surreal. A year of the poet's life becomes an abstract. Stone and Ice, as poem after poem unfolds into two or three levels of meaning, is the adventure!