Nature’s Mind by Shelley Reece
$14.99
In his poem “Another Nature Poem”, Shelley Reece observes that he has “been advised/ not to write nature poems”, and then defiantly says, “nature’s mind says otherwise.” Reece’s new collection, Nature’s Mind, is defiantly and stubbornly committed to the pastoral, and in it nature’s noises, sounds and sweet airs serve as stark reminders of the terrifying world that the poet seeks to avoid. These are beautifully crafted nature poems that promise a certain escape, and in these times, it is hard to begrudge Reece this indulgence, this lyric war against “the dark winter” of death.
–Kwame Dawes author of Nebraska
The natural world’s deep intelligence advises this poet to do what some urge him not to do: write nature poems. Shelley Reece takes nature’s advice, thus giving us this moving suite of poems, one in which “Goldfinches from a bamboo forest / pick nyjer thistle seeds, fly back / and perch, gold leaves on black canes.” Imbued with rich imagery, Reece’s collection celebrates a calendar year’s transitions, promising us that season will follow season. Recounting the preparations honeybees make to survive winter, the closing poem embodies that promise. The last two lines assure us with their coda: “…the hive has nature’s mind / and preserves itself for spring.”
–Paulann Petersen, Oregon Poet Laureate Emerita
A sly poem at the heart of this lovely book begins, “Though I have been advised/ not to write nature poems, / nature’s mind says otherwise.” Fortunately, Shelley Reece ignores the advice and pays fierce attention to nature’s mind and body. The result isn’t “nature poems” but poems rich in surprise, humor and insight from careful watching — often through a sun-room window and never far from “our old tuxedo cat, dressed always for dinner.” It’s not all roses and honeysuckle; there’s nightcrawler sex and drunken bees and crows feeding on roadkill. But in the beloved garden, curated by the beloved gardener, winter “stands still” before giving way to “spring’s tremendous heave.”
–Don Colburn
Description
Nature’s Mind
by Shelley Reece
$14.99, paper
978-1-64662-902-2
2022
Shelley Reece (PhD) retired in 2002 from 43 years of college and university teaching writing and literature, with 33 of those years at Portland State University–six as Director of Composition and six as Department Chair. He served on the board of the Friends of William Stafford thirteen years and chaired the board for five of those years. Along the way, he discovered a growing affinity for poetry. In June, 2014 he completed an MFA in poetry from Pacific University, Forest Grove. He lives in Garden Home, a Portland, Oregon suburb, with his wife, Mary, and their rescue cat, Cardi.
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