His Mother’s Place
By Kristina Simms
It was his mother’s place,
With scuppernongs and pergolas
And Japanese magnolias, Rose-of-Sharon,
The old fashioned white and purple kind
And, of course, lycoris and
Camellias and azaleas.
And now it’s his place:
Sawhorses, a stack of splintery pallets,
Two trucks—one dead, one with a busted muffler—
Gutters full of leaves, pecans unharvested,
Cannabis, of course, and
Methamphetamine.
(Copyright by Kristina M. Simms. Used by permission.)
I already had a copy of Tina’s poetry book, A Second Spring, before she sent me the announcement of its availability as a Kindle download. Internet bookseller Amazon came out with its Kindle e-reader just in time for the holiday gadget season last year at $399 each. Tina says, “It so happens that I bought one in a burst of extravagance and just absolutely love it. It is very easy on the eyes and you can enlarge the font if you wish.” Furthermore, “The neatest thing for writers is that you can put your own books on Kindle for free”
Here is the link for Amazon’s Kindle downloads.
http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-Amazons-Wireless-Reading-Device/dp/B000FI73MA
Tina says it is easiest to look up her book on Kindle by the author’s name, Kristina Simms, as the title may produce results only close enough for horseshoes. If you are like me and still whistling past the Gutenberg Graveyard, you can order a copy in paperback.
A Second Spring offers ironic musings on Elvis at the Dentist, the portrait of Robert E. Lee at the Georgia Capitol, and Hollywood celebrities, as well as “finding the unique in the ordinary, beauty in the commonplace.”
Tina also intends to upload to Kindle her nature journal, A YEAR AT THE LAKE. “Whee! Retirement is so much fun,” says the former middle-Georgia schoolteacher who lives in Perry. In addition to her writing, Tina is “a community organizer and proud of it,” a political activist with the Georgia Federation of Democratic Women, an advocate on mental health issues, and a photographer with a beautiful website.
(Copyright 2008 by William C. Cotter)
Monday, October 27, 2008
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1 comment:
Goll-eee ! Thank you, Bill. Your kind words are so much appreciated. Those of us who are waaay out of the academic loop, as I am, seldom get such generous exposure for our work. About the Kindle version of A Second Spring, let me mention that I didn't have the know-how or the patience to change the formatting. I just uploaded the same file that I sent to iUniverse for the print version.
It turned out pretty much okay except that there are some unintended enjambments and some unintended spaces between the poems. Kindle downloaders should just keep pushing the "next page" bar and -- voila! -- the next poem will pop up. Again, thanks a lot!
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