John Simonds’ fifth book of poetry continues his eclectic journey on the busy lanes and quiet paths of island living in days of hope and survival.

In Catching My Drift, long-time Hawai’i resident John E. Simonds shares more of his poetic insights on topics global and local, sharing both concern for the future and edgy humor reflecting on the present. The retired newspaper editor pursues the big and little stories that comprise each day’s events. Poems touching on AI, housing, immigration, and the fate of the natural world appear alongside pieces on telephone scams, backyard birds, the care of eyes, wisdom of dogs, family loss and fading memories of vanishing history. Throughout this latest collection of his new work, Simonds seasons his stanzas with a sense of realism mixed with persistent hope that comes with a perspective of nine decades in a world that never runs out of surprises.

John E. Simonds, a retired Honolulu daily newspaper editor, has lived with his family in Hawai’i for nearly 50 years and previously was a reporter for newspapers from Washington, D.C., and other cities. A Bowdoin College graduate and former east coast and midwest resident, he has been writing poems since the 1970s, including four previous collections, Waves from a Time-Zoned Brain (AuthorHouse 2009), Footnotes to the Sun (iUniverse 2015), In a Roundabout Way (Dorrance 2021), and Walking the Sunset Home (Atmosphere 2023). He has been involved in the Hawai’i Literary Arts Council, Friends of the East-West Center, and distance-jogging (now walking) events with the Mid-Pacific Road Runners Club. He and his wife, Kitty, have children and grandchildren in WI. TX and CA, and many nieces, nephews and in-laws in Hawai’i.