Rays of Light and Darkness by Raymond Turco

In Rays of Light and Darkness, Raymond Turco takes us on an extended journey from myth, through Nature, which he has an omnipresent love for, across many countries (“Prague is the city of the future, of the past”) into his soul. His knowledge is overarching. In one poem he goes from Foucault to Woody Allen, not missing a beat. He delineates the consciousness of those around him — Grandfather, Grandmother, and so on – and in “The Shepherd of Many Turns”, the speaker says that when he dies, he will reanimate as plants, animals and dust. “In the end – we are all alone on a Sunday stroll.” Turco has penned a brilliant collection of words!

–Ron Kolm, contributing editor of Sensitive Skin, author of The Bookstore Book: A Memoir (Pink Trees Press, 2023)

Raymond Turco‘ s poetry is rooted in Italian and Italian-American culture and moves from poems of family, immigrant experience, and love to the wider world of Italian cities and culture. They are imbued with a deep existential loneliness. A number of them end with surprising bursts of passion and self-revelation. One of the best of them is “Cosimina”, with its insight into the suffering of its lonely heroine: “And I wonder if I may ever have the courage to ask in a silent room, ‘When is dinner coming ’round?’” Turco also has a gift for dramatic immediacy… [and has the] ability to create a dramatic situation and carry it through, [reaching] beyond the personal lyric with the use of myth.

–Michael Graves, Preparing the Apology (Nirala Publications, 2021)

Raymond Turco’s poetry chapbook, Rays of Light and Darkness, takes you on a marvelous journey “from the Old World to the New” where this journey begins in rich imagery and riveting, poetic storytelling verse.  The poem “Cosimina” will tug at your heart strings (“when is dinner coming ‘round”) while heaviness and lightness can be felt in “Youth Left Out in the Rain” and “Pseudobulbar and Jelly” respectively.  This poetic journey ends in places of the heart while dwelling in wonderful cities, countrysides and lands in the section “The Belpaese and Beyond.”  Lovely are the words of this poetry chapbook.

–Jerry T Johnson, Winner of the 2020 Evening Street Press Sinclair Poetry Prize