Description
Sliver of Change
by Marianne Brems
$14.99, paper
978-1-64662-344-0
2020
Sliver of Change a debut collection of twenty-four poems by Marianne Brems. The collection revolves around the theme of transformations, small ones, big ones, frightening ones, peaceful ones that occur at every moment. Her vignettes of everyday life explore quirks of human nature as well as curious aspects of the physical world. Author Audrey Kalman says “These are pieces that appear quotidian but reveal deeper truths. You’ll want to read them more than once to connect with the power and emotion lurking under their surfaces.
Marianne Brems is a long time writer of trade books and textbooks, but also loves to write poetry and short stories. She has an MA in Creative Writing from San Francisco State University. Her poems have appeared in many literary journals including The Pangolin Review, Armarolla, Foliate Oak, La Scrittrice, The Sunlight Press, and The Tiny Seed Literary Journal. She lives in Northern California. Website: www.mariannebrems.com.
Will Leben (verified owner) –
Each poem has a distinct theme, but they share a personality: a real-life focus (a hot shower, a toddler eating oatmeal) explored for sometimes cosmic implications with the most fluid language and phrasing imaginable.
Shea (verified owner) –
I’m not big into poetry, but Brems captures routine, everyday moments in a way that resonates with the collective human experience. When I need a grounding, I will return to these poems.
Kathy Eriksen (verified owner) –
A book worth owning, where each poem has its own key to unlock visualization of life. I was able to experience the feelings conveyed by Brems in each poem as if it was something I had experienced. Enjoyable reading, sending me to reread phrases over again, only to catch a different context to its meaning.
Rick Schwartz (verified owner) –
Brems shares keen observation with well-crafted words that can make you laugh (as in her “Banana Spots”) and cry (as in “No Food By Mouth”). Each poem is a pleasant and striking piece.
Katherine Scott (verified owner) –
Poems develop and sprout from Marianne’s soul. Everyday events inspire her to write. Serious subjects, such as her mom’s illness in No Food by Mouth and her passing in Ashes in the Lake bring tears to my eyes. Silly subjects as in Oatmeal Adventure and Banana Spot make me giggle. She works diligently to uncover the correct words to express an idea.I look forward to reading her next poetry endeavor.
Mitchell Johnson –
Poetry is one of the bright spots of this tiresome pandemic. My wife and I have enjoyed Marianne Brems new poems and look forward to the next collection.
Carissa Keen (verified owner) –
A poignant understanding of life’s precious moments. Marianne Brems writes poetry for the same reason I read poetry – to find a way to process and understand my own life experiences. I love how she identifies moments of transformation that are relatable to so many. I also particularly enjoyed her keen ability to touch on what is happening during transformation; not just on an emotional and spiritual level but also biologically, as exemplified in a A Piano Falls, Oatmeal Adventure and others throughout this collection. I thoroughly enjoyed this work, thank you.
Tara Mohanan –
These poems have a quality that I associate with haikus — a vivid concentrated physical image setting the stage; but quickly moving beyond the image to perceiving something deep within the moment, often the very nature of existence; and then letting go, sinking into stillness, sometimes comfortable, sometimes not; and in the process, capturing a moment and transforming it into something special. Thank you!
Andrew Valentine –
These are beautiful poems that capture deep emotion and moments in time. The poem about scattering her mother’s ashes in a lake was particularly moving to me as I had recently done something similar with my uncle’s ashes on a mountaintop. I very much look forward to Brems’ forthcoming second book of poetry – Unsung Offerings.
Mary Kennedy Eastham –
Writing poetry is the hardest thing to do well. Marianne Brems in Sliver of Change skillfully shows us the parts of life we all experience like the furious energy of children carrying a banana to recess or a 97 year old mother who played tennis until 90, now all fever. We want to go deeper, stay with each poem for a while. You can see through these poems how Marianne lives close to the earth, probably why she enjoys cycling so much. The wind, the landscape beauty, the easy quiet. New poem ideas. Good poetry can teach us who we are in the world. Let Marianne’s work do that for you…Mary Kennedy Eastham, Author, Three Soul-Makers: Poems That Bring Us Together, Squinting Over Water – Stories and The Shadow of A Dog I Can’t Forget – Poems & Prose