Marvin Richard Montney is a prize-winning American poet, novelist, humorous memoirist, playwright, award-winning humorous speaker, published writer and philosopher currently living and writing in California. As instructor in philosophy, William Rainey Harper College, Palatine, Illinois, and graduate teaching assistant in Western and Asian Philosophy, University of Hawaii-Manoa, he taught some Philosophy of India, Lao Tzu, Chuang Tzu, and Confucius, as well as Western. Born in Leavenworth, Washington of third-generation, Anglo-Saxon-French-American descent, migrant farm worker parents, his father eventually becoming a roofer and later owner-operator of his own roofing company, Marvin Richard Montney was raised in Portland, Oregon. Graduating Cleveland high school as newspaper co-editor, co-valedictorian, and student body president, he ranked nineteenth out of the 116 full-time male students of his Whitman College freshman class, and attended Reed College (B.A., (Western) Philosophy), University of Chicago (A.M., Committee on Ideas and Methods, Western and Philosophy of India specialty), and University of Hawaii (Ph.D./A.B.D./area exam, Western and Comparative Indian Philosophy). He visited ten weeks in Shinjukuku district, Tokyo, Japan. With his high school tennis partner, he was Runners-Up Doubles Champion for the State of Oregon. The Bureau of State Audits deemed him eligible, among 4,546, out of 24,915, to enter the supplemental application phase of Californians called to serve on the nation’s first Citizens Redistricting Commission. On June 11, 2010 it notified him he will not proceed to the next selection phase, although it will retain his application materials for ten years, as required by the Voters FIRST Act. “If the bureau is called upon”, it wrote him, “to fill a commission vacancy in the future, the bureau must attempt to fill [it] with prior applicants. Thus, unless you have a conflict of interest that prohibits you from serving, there is a possibility that you may be called upon to serve....” His poem “Lynne” was accepted January 6, 2006 by editor Linda Erickson of Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, for publication in a broadside series or in an upcoming issue of the magazine, Poetry Harbor. With his book of poetry The Seeker Is The Sought now published, he is finishing a novel. His web site is https://outskirtspress.com/marvinrichardmontney. You can also find his work at www.amazon.com/author/marvinrichardmontney. [Author photo by Michael Timbang.]
The Seeker Is The Sought:
Poems of Lovers' Joys, Lovers' Empowerments: Poems 1970 - 2010
by Marvin Richard Montney
The Seeker Is The Sought:
Poems of Lovers' Joys, Lovers' Empowerments: Poems 1970 - 2010
by Marvin Richard Montney
Published Dec 14, 2010
80 Pages
Genre: POETRY / General
Book Details
READY TO STEP INTO YOUR ADVENTURE OF INITIATION?
*****University of Chicaho Magazine's Reviews (Jul 05, 2016) is where you as reader can post your own review of my book, at http://goodreads.com/review/show/1688676864. *****"In his latest poetry collection, Marvin explores the nature and transformative power of love....--the poems are interesting, not only in their philosophic examinations, but also in their fresh language and lyricism."--Reediana Briefs, Reed [College] Magazine, June 2016 at http://www.reed.edu/reed_magazine/June2016/articles/reediana/ *****"I enjoyed reading 'A thousand [givings] is your love.' The form and flow worked well as did the assonance."--Judge 41, Inspirational, 23rd Annual Writer's Digest Self-Published Book Awards, December 1, 2015. *****"At times Montney's poetry is ideal for readers who enjoy working out meanings and contemplating riddles. For instance, 'To an Island girl: Twenty-three for Debbie....'"--Judge 96, Poetry entry category, 23rd Annual Writer's Digest Self-Published Book Awards, December 1, 2015. *****Find my latest (fourth) online author interview of October 28, 2015 at: SanFranciscoBookReview.com/2015/10/interview-with-poet-marvin-richard-montney/ and view my paperback ad on ManhattanReview.com now through December 11, 2015. *****With all due modesty, Kirkus Reviews has called me a "visionary" and "a great writer"; so that, and a ten dollar bill might, just might get you two scoops at San Francisco's Ben & Jerry's, or Gotta Havit Desserts, or Belly Good Cafe & Crepes. *****Check out my newest webpage on Kirkus Pro Connect - Kirkus Reviews at https://www.kirkusreviews.com/author/marvin-richard-montney/, or at https://www.kirkusreviews.com/proconnect/browse/religion-inspiration/. *****For all my online internet entries: Google "Marvin Richard Montney" within quotation marks (in English Google), or "The Seeker Is The Sought" "Marvin Richard Montney" (both together, in English Google) within quotation marks. *****See my latest press release at http://www.prlog.org/12101999-new-book-titled-the-seeker-is-the-sought-by-poet-marvin-richard-montney.html *****See my latest (of three) online author interviews at www.pacificbookreview.com/Exclusive-Author-Interviews.php *****For my view of just how my The Seeker Is The Sought book poems exemplify love as lovers' transformative empowerment, read my latest Aug/30/2012 article at www.articlesnatch.com/Article/Love-As-Transformative-Empowerment-By-Marvin-Richard-Montney/4131357. Or you may read this same article reprinted at www.earticlesonline.com/...As...Marvin-Richard-Montney/1625862. *****To read first 10 poetry pages of my The Seeker Is The Sought, click "Sample Chapter" at www.TheReadingRoom.com/the-seeker-is-the-sought/bp/4046817. *****"In this collection, visionary poet Montney opens the doorway to the soul to uncover love's uncharted essence. ... A good writer uses his life as a camera to help influence his writing; a great writer synthesizes these experiences into touchstones to create a path of knowledge for the reader.... Montney certainly falls into the latter category. ... A great read for lovers, lovers of poetry and those with an interest in philosophy."--Kirkus Indie Book Review, December 27, 2011 [http://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/marvin-richard-montney/the-seeker-is-the-sought/]. *****"...poetry that is of the first class. Adhering to Shakespeare[']s dictum that, [']There is more under heaven and earth than is dreamt of in our philosophies,['] Mr. Montney uses his poetry to explore some of those unchartered areas exemplified in the states of love and romance. ...an audacious undertaking but one at which Mr. Montney artfully succeeds."--Reviewed anonymously by Judge 24, Judge's Commentary on my entry in the (2012) 20th Annual Writer's Digest Annual Self-Published Book Awards, January 16, 2013. *****"...his ideas & actual lived life into lyrics that are inventive & inspiring."-- Reviewed anonymously by Judge 62, Judge's Commentary, (2012) Writer's Digest Self-Published Book Awards, November 16, 2012. *****"What sets The Seeker is the Sought apart from other collections of poetry is Montney's ambitious direction. With each 'cluster,' comes a carefully calculated objective. With deft rhythm and a both vivid and powerful capability to bring image to language, Montney's poems evoke an almost unnatural curiosity. Each poem in this collection suggests a [powerful] intimacy capable of reaching a diverse range of readers. In the end, Montney's intriguing and ambitious insights into the psyche of love are a success in that they stir enough emotion in their reader to be deemed worth reading and rereading."--Reviewed (anonymously) by Daniel Kine, published poet and author of the novel, Between Nowhere and Happiness, (Smallhead Press, 2010), in Indie Literature Now, October 5, 2011, http://indieliteraturetoday.blogspot.com. *****"Montney's poems individually seek to reduce the gaps, allowing intimacy. And the universality of his ardent collection overall will widely appeal to readers who are seeking to appreciate and make sense of intimate relationships and to...'drink deeply from that spring which breaks forth when the I of you is shed.'"--"[R]eviewed by J. Alpha," [pseudonym of published poet Janet Paszkowski, poet of Alpharetta, Georgia], The US Review of Books, under "reviews," 12/20/2010, www.theUSreview.com/reviews/Seeker-Montney.html. *****"Moving and charming, [The Seeker Is The Sought] is a collection that should be sought itself."--Reviewed by Margaret Lane, Midwest Book Review, Reviewer's Bookwatch, Margaret's Bookshelf, March 1, 2011, www.midwestbookreview/rbw/mar_11.htm. *****"Montney's poetry lets us know that ordinary life offers possibilities so that we can give meaning to our lives and to those that are dear to us both in the past and present. Even after 82 pages, his book leaves you wanting more."--Reviewed by Cheri C., Five Star Customer Review, April 3, 2011, www.amazon.com > Books > Literature & Fiction > Poetry. *****"Montney takes the reader on a journey in which the speaker evolves, and he uses his extensive knowledge of Western and Indian philosophy to inform his poems."--Review and author interview by Natasha Lee, (San Francisco) Sunset Beacon, February 2011, www.sunsetbeacon.com/archives/SunsetBeacon/2011editions/Feb11/poems.html. *****"'The Seeker Is the Sought' is sure to find an audience in the literary circuit because there is so much symbolism."--Reviewed by Gary Roen, Midwest Book Review, Reviewer's Bookwatch, Gary's Bookshelf, June 2011, www.midwestbookreview.com/rbw/jun_11/htm. *****"Enjoy the poetry you like in this very personal selection, such as 'The Arrival,' a wonderful poem about family longing with a clever nod to Jane Austen. It alone is a very worthwhile selection."--Reviewed anonymously, in The San Francisco Book Review, July 5, 2011, www.sanfranciscobookreview.com/poetry-short-stories/the-seeker-is-the-sought-poe.... *****"I enjoyed reading this book because I became deeply involved in what the author was saying and he made me understand through his poems that love is not just a statement, but it is an intense emotional, mental, and physical action."--Reviewed by Lisa M. for ReadersFavorite.com, 2011, http://readersfavorite.com/review/4258. *****"Love is best expressed in poetry and song. Mr. Montney does a great job of it like only one who has experienced love can do. When you are in love, life is a poem. I relived many of my own experiences through his poems. I recommend [this book of poems] highly."--Reviewed by Eugenia M. Mendez, Five Star Customer Review, July 24, 2011, www.amazon.com/review/RXS3DZM317TRO. *****"Free Book Reviews Can you suggest one question readers might find interesting to discuss concerning you, your writing in general, or this book? Marvin Richard Montney How does the reader-initiate start out her or his journey, and end it? Are the changes or transformations substantive, or on a merely hedonistic, experiential level only? What is the substance or content of the book's 'mysticism'?"--Author interview by Albert Robbins III, July 9, 2011, Free Book Reviews, freebookreviews.blogspot.com/.../author-interview-marvin-richard-m...