Nocturne – Schumann’s Letters by Laura Donnelly

“Herself a classical pianist, Laura Donnelly has composed her poems with an exquisite ear and a delicate touch. In Nocturne – Schumann’s Letters we are gently led into the soulful wonder of the arrival of music within the mystery of the man, ‘everything a song.’ With gratitude we listen to this empathic accompaniment to Schumann’s work, music we can hear only in these care-filled poems.”

–Jack Ridl

“In Nocturne – Schumann’s Letters, Laura Donnelly explores with delicacy and precision the artist’s struggles towards wholeness.  Tracing the relationship of composer/musicians Robert and Clara Schumann, Donnelly asks this: when a thing of beauty is made–a form, a love, a marriage, a self–what irretrievables must enter into its making?  I deeply admire this lovely, intelligent sequence.”

–Nancy Eimers