VOICED: Poems
by Patricia L. Hamilton
REVIEWS
“Never Fails to Surprise”
Without doubt, if Marc Chagall were still among us today, he would glean much inspiration from the poems assembled in this chapbook of ekphrastic poetry. Patricia Hamilton’s language never fails to surprise, and her imagery burns into memory. These well-crafted persona poems coruscate with brilliance. Voiced is a revelation.
— James E Cherry, author of Between Chance and Mercy
“Marvelous, Providing Fresh Insight”
We’re so used to the patriarchal stories in the Bible, it’s easy to forget that women are major players. But Patricia Hamilton, in Voiced, reminds us that women not only acted, but had voices to tell their stories. These poems, inspired by Chagall lithographs, are marvelous, providing fresh insight into Eve, bereft of Eden; Sarah, miraculously conceiving at eighty-five; and among others, Ruth, who in “Ruth, Purposeful,” is grateful for the pain of stoop labor as a gleaner, for the exhausting ache acts as an antidote to “the excruciating labor / of grief.
— Robert Cooperman, Winner of the Holland Prize for Draft Board Blues
“A Masterclass in Ekphrasis & Midrash”
Voiced is a masterclass in ekphrasis and midrash. A sharp observer of art and the Bible, Patricia Hamilton reverently examines Old Testament stories with fresh pathos, play, and inspiration. Her exquisitely crafted poems honor both Chagall and scripture, reminding us that interpretation is an ongoing creative act. Moreover, she dares us to use our creativity to listen for the voiceless and offer them an opportunity to speak. This collection is a brilliant example of a faithful imagination–attentive, curious, and prophetic.
— Whitney Rio-Ross, author of thunder makes us
“Ekphrastic poetry is always at its core a conversation. In Voiced, Patricia Hamilton does much more than discuss art with Chagall. She fills the lungs of Chagall’s Old Testament women and gives them voice, and they speak from the page with clarity and boldness. Hamilton’s work helps the reader to understand the original artwork as well as the lives of the women depicted and ultimately helps us understand what it means for each of us to have a voice.”
— Rose Postma, Reformed Journal poetry editor and host of the Reformed Journal Podcast: Poetry Edition
EVEN NOW: Poems
by Patricia L. Hamilton
REVIEWS
“Passionate about Poetry’s Power”
Of the many books of poems extant, some leave the reader without a mark, some contain poems that follow you on early morning walks, and then there are books of poems that linger in the mind almost whole. Even Now embodies that kind of poetry, for Patricia L. Hamilton’s poems are for those who are passionate about poetry’s power. I’m reminded of dancers who weave in and out of a circle around their partners; Hamilton’s poems do just that. With cohesive movements through their linked passages of time, they pass down stories of place, desire, and memorable lives.
— Joseph Zaccardi, Poet Laureate of Marin County, California, 2013-15, and author of Songbirds of the Nine Rivers (Sixteen Rivers Press)
“Beautiful & Uplifting“
In her marvelous latest collection, Even Now, Patricia L. Hamilton writes about her early life with a light, yet vivid touch, including childhood afflictions like asthma and bullying, but also enduring love. She writes of world events like the Vietnam War and the trauma her father experienced in World War II, but more often of small deeds of decency, as in “Random Acts of Kindness,” when an older man inadvertently salvages a disappointing dinner out. This is a beautiful, uplifting (without being preachy in the least) collection.
— Robert Cooperman, winner of the Colorado Book Award for Poetry for In the Colorado Gold Fever Mountains (Western Reflections Publishing)
“Will Want to Reread & Share”
The poems in Patricia L. Hamilton’s Even Now are unhurried yet powerful as they draw us into the life of a young girl growing into womanhood. They portray the human comedy and observe everyday life with insight and acceptance, touching on incidents such as Kennedy’s assassination as seen through the eyes of a child. As the narrative progresses, the child matures, encounters people from divergent backgrounds, and struggles to reconcile her secure upbringing with an often dangerous and unfeeling world. This is a collection you will want to reread and share.
— Ann Howells, former editor of Illya’s Honey and author of Painting the Pinwheel Sky (Assure Press)
“What early experiences become the memories that define us? How do these memories echo throughout our lives as we grow from children to adolescents to adults? How do lessons learned evolve into lives lived? These are the questions that permeate Patricia L. Hamilton’s recent collection Even Now, which explores memory from multiple standpoints, examining how the past informs the lifelong trajectory of our choices.”
— Gloria Heffernan in Fare Forward
FULL REVIEW
THE DISTANCE TO NIGHTFALL: Poems
by Patricia L. Hamilton
REVIEWS
“Poems Probe the Depth of Human Condition”
This wonderful debut collection is a testament to Hamilton’s keen eye and her mastery of metaphor and imagery. But more importantly, these poems probe the depths of the human condition. Yes, nightfall is inevitable. But what do we do as we move towards it or await its arrival? Hamilton reminds us that we question, cry, rejoice, doubt, embrace, praise, dance, let go and hold on until “a glimmer of light will signal we are home.”
— James E. Cherry, author of Loose Change
“Beautiful Tenderness in Poem after Poem”
The beautiful tenderness in poem after poem of Hamilton’s Distance to Nightfall only adds to the hard-headedness of her observations. There’s gentleness here, but also the awareness that the world is an unforgiving place, as well as a lovely one, and we are only passing through on a journey from one darkness to another. For Hamilton in this luminous collection, one must be prepared for life’s dangerous lessons, as well as accepting of its gifts.
— Robert Cooperman, winner of the Colorado Book Award for Poetry for In the Colorado Gold Fever Mountains (Western Reflections Publishing)
“Rarity among Today’s Fashionable Poets”
Ms. Hamilton is a poet of many weathers, from the inclement to the gorgeous. She is as good at evoking heartbreak as she is at calling up unexpected happinesses, a rarity among today’s fashionable poets. What is more, she often surprises us, moving from the diction of “A smooth white fogbank lolls offshore” (“Camouflage”) to that of “When I was sixteen good jobs were scarce” (“Innocence”) with the sprezzatura of a Renaissance artist.”
— John J. Brugaletta, author of The Tongue Angles, Tilling the Land, and With My Head Rising Out of the Water.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: hamiltonplw@outlook.com
