Hardback
Retail Price: $19.95
Dave Dragone writes about beauty wherever he might find it. These are poems that feel good in the mouth when spoken aloud, each one shining like the full moon drifting through a clear, perfect Rhode Island night. In spite of flighty fads, in spite of the insanity pervading our culture and our lives, here is a poet who massages the language to find precise metaphors - often in the world of ocean and sky - to show us a rich reality that is always there if we take the time to actually look. Dave looks. Tom Chandler Poet Laureate of Rhode Island emeritus Like the finely tuned strings of a well-played instrument, each of David Dragone’s poems in this, his debut collection Temperaments, sounds a pleasing tone of its own, evokes a particular mood, and provides a particular insight which, as Robert Frost said, “reminds us of something we didn’t know we knew.” But, gathered together in a book, his work resonates on a grander scale—as a rich testament to the continual rediscovery of the mystical in the ordinary. Whether taking a walk, commuting to work, tuning a piano, or bathing his infant daughter in the kitchen sink, Dragone’s art celebrates the “found treasures” of the everyday and “helps us bear the imperfect.” A wonderful and auspicious debut. A.M. Dolan Playwright, Robert Frost: This Verse business In this, his first book of poems, David Dragone casts his poetic lines just enough, then reels them back in with skilled restraint. A fine balance of lush imagery and straight-forwardness makes these poems accessible, yet in no way simple. Readers will feel the undercurrent of emotion churning beneath the surface—the weight of regret; the buoyancy of hope—and glean meaning from what remains unsaid. Each poem offers a glimpse into the personal and universal experience of being human. Dragone writes: “I found some gems whose hard edges had resigned to the simple things that were already beautiful,” and, in doing so, reminds us that gratitude is what matters most and that the natural world is here to teach us. Heather Sullivan Author, These Onyx Hours
Hardback
Format: 5.5 x 8.5 Black & White Dust-Jacketed Hardback, 55 pages
Publisher: Starwind Books (Nov 09, 2015)
ISBN10: 0578166097
ISBN13: 9780578166094
Genre: POETRY / General
Back flap:
David Dragone’s poetry has appeared repeatedly in the Bryant Literary Review, California Quarterly, Common Ground Review, Avocet, Newport Life Magazine, the Providence Journal, and others. Some of his poetry has been broadcast on Rhode Island’s NPR radio affiliate and one of his poems was featured by Trinity Repertory Company in Providence. He lives in Middletown, RI with his wife Joanna and has two children, Sara and Matthew, and one grandchild, Nathan Fullerton. David tunes pianos and teaches violin. In this collection of poems, Temperaments, I’ve collected poems centered around explorations of the natural world and their often surprising wonder.
My hope is that these poems will in some small way help the reader be reminded that the gifts of each day are what matter most. Whether the tides are running high or low, combing the beach where we find ourself can allow us to discover new things about the value of the search and the journey.
I hope you enjoy these poems.
Front flap:
My hope is always that these poems will speak to the reader and move them to rediscover their own goodness, kindness, and resilience in the face of whatever they may face in life. I believe that every good thing is a gift, and that every difficult thing can be a gift yet to be unwrapped if we have the courage to look at it that way. And sometimes, the sheer beauty of the day, and our gratitude for it can heal us in ways we scarcely imagine. I hope you enjoy these poems.
—David Dragone
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