J S Maclean

Molasses Smothered Lemon Slices J S Maclean

Publisher Marketing: "Molasses Smothered Lemon Slices" is a collection of 189 poems, about half of which have been published in journals and magazines in Canada, USA, UK, and Australia. Forty years of writing in a variety of styles and with vast array of themes is represented. Free verse, short, experimental, rhyming, metered, shape, narrative, formal, traditional, lyrical, cleave, and combinations of those are found here. The themes range from the tried and true of the human condition to unique vignettes of experience. Some works are simple lyrical statements, some venture into complex scientific, historical, philosophical, or ecological subjects, and some are all of those. Humor is understated and darker places are faced with courage. The external world often appears front and center; challenging yet welcoming and surprising, like the pieces found here. The author invites readers to take their time reading. Poems, medicine, or chocolate should not be consumed all at once. The poet might be an outsider of the poetic establishment and readers who don't normally read poetry are given special welcome to this volume. The writing is sometimes sentimental but never cloying, sometimes didactic but not unbalanced, sometimes a wilderness but not without signposts. There is a seriousness here and attention to sound. Time spans from centuries ago to the future, place ranges from Africa to the Arctic. There is something here for most everyone.