Uncertain Seasons by Ruth Harper

(1 customer review)

$15.99

 

There’s such a wide variety of soulful epiphanies in this beautiful little book, the author expressing, again and again, so creatively and persuasively, the conclusion she has come to after many years of consideration and re-consideration: “that love,/ is why we exist.” I urge you to spend some quiet time with these deeply meaningful poems. If you give them the time they deserve, you’ll be informed and heartened by them.

–Charles Woodard, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of English, South Dakota State University

 

In Ruth Harper’s debut poetry chapbook Uncertain Seasons, she draws readers into mindfulness. She turns chunks of floating ice into a way to see her own “jaggedness,” and the colors and sounds of spring into a language of exaltation. These still moments of awareness reflect her deep engagement with seasonal cycles and the stories they suggest, yielding surprising descriptions: a “thunderstorm / shoulders its way through town / like a lumberjack;” a “solitary woodpecker” becomes “a maestro /of potent nods.” Spend an afternoon reading Harper’s chapbook aloud; it will delight your ears and refresh your perceptions of the natural world.

–Christine Stewart-Nunez, South Dakota State Poet, 2019-2022, Author of The Poet & The Architect (2021, Terrapin Books)

 

Ruth Harper’s poems are filled with keen observations of the natural world and her place in it, noting jet contrails forming cottony patterns (“Sky-blue Quilt”), the cosmos, and an empty street through the eyes of a child (“On Turning 70”). She honors native people and their language, as well as her own family and the past. “Longest Night, Brightest Planets,” is set in the moment, ending with these fine lines: “On this longest night/ of the loneliest year,/ two planets align/ beneath a gleaming crescent moon,/ reminding us/ during bleak pandemic days/ that always/ in this astonishing,/ indifferent universe/ extraordinary beauty awaits/ within the depths of darkness.”

–Twyla M. Hansen, Nebraska State Poet 2013-2018, Author of Feeding the Fire (2022, WSC Press)

 

 

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Uncertain Seasons

by Ruth Harper

$15.99, paper

979-8-88838-083-3

2023

Uncertain Seasons reflects on the passage of time through distinct periods of the year as well as stages of life. From “December’s Encompassing Silence” to signs of “Rebirth” — from “Late Summer, Open Field” to the falling leaves of “Northern Ash,” these poems offer original perspectives on the world just outside the door. Authentic emotion and a passion for detail color these observations. A readers’ guide is included, making this collection of interest to book groups.

Ruth Harper is Professor Emerita of Counseling and Human Development at South Dakota State University, where she coordinated the college counseling and student affairs administration specialties for over 20 years. She co-authored four books in her field and has special interest in American Indian college student success, the role of tribal colleges in South Dakota, and college student mental health. Ruth holds a B.A. from Cornell College (Mt. Vernon, IA), an M.Ed. from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh (Oshkosh, WI), and a Ph.D. from Kansas State University (Manhattan, KS).

Ruth lives in Brookings, South Dakota, and is married to Lawrence Rogers, mother to adult daughters Libby and Maggie, and Nana to grandsons Max and Miles. She is currently on the board of the local PFLAG (Parents, Families, & Friends of Lesbians & Gays+) and the Advisory Council of the Boys & Girls Club of the Northern Plains (Brookings).

For Ruth, reading fiction and poetry has been a lifelong joy; in retirement, writing poetry is a meaningful pursuit and challenge.

Original artwork by Meghan Peterson, meg.mariah27@gmail.com

 

 

1 review for Uncertain Seasons by Ruth Harper

  1. Alan Wayne Debban –

    There is a simple elegance to Dr. Harper’s poems. The upper Midwest, specifically South Dakota, with its icy winters and blistering summers, are the inspiration for her poems. Added in is an acknowledgement of the oft-forgotten native American culture. This booklet is a worthy addition to any bookshelf.

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