So, it's summer, and you want to go someplace special? How about going on a Dream Drive with Jonathan Harris?
Dream Drive is a brand new, 60-page poetry collection by Los Angeles poet Jonathan Harris. And what a ride it is! Harris intrigues us with dreamscapes of childhood memories and complex relationships, delights us with an entire section whimsically titled "Horsies", and teases us with poems named "Shacking Up with Karma", "Alessandro Volta's First Letter of Resignation", and "John (and Yoko) Write a Haiku".
Featuring a richly-colored cover photograph by Californian Jeffrey Alfier on a pale ivory cardstock, with a textured, deep navy cardstock insert, Dream Drive is printed on thick white cotton paper and is a dream to hold in your hands. You'll want to be wide-awake, though, when you read his words:
"Ode to Joy"
When he sings—sweet
scarecrow of a boy—he goes somewhere
other than here,
I think
to a holy place
in his hand-me-downs,
to a world brimming
with the well water
When he sings—sweet
scarecrow of a boy—he goes somewhere
other than here,
I think
to a holy place
in his hand-me-downs,
to a world brimming
with the well water
of joy,
where I go too,
picking up straw
& the golden notes
my son leaves behind.
"What I Do with My Time"
The past
is a time bomb
I hear ticking.
So I write.
The present
is a gift
I unwrap later.
So I hope.
The future
is a horse
I see winning.
So I bet.
Where I'm
coming from
kids turn cartwheels.
So I whistle.
where I go too,
picking up straw
& the golden notes
my son leaves behind.
"What I Do with My Time"
The past
is a time bomb
I hear ticking.
So I write.
The present
is a gift
I unwrap later.
So I hope.
The future
is a horse
I see winning.
So I bet.
Where I'm
coming from
kids turn cartwheels.
So I whistle.
Jonathan Harris received a Bachelor's Degree in Liberal Arts from St. John's College and an MFA in Creative Writing from Pacific University. His first book of poetry, The Wave That Did Not Break, was published by Tebot Bach Press in 2010. Along with being head of development for the entertainment agency Atoll Productions, he serves as a judge for the Page International Screenwriting Contest. His work has appeared recently in the Raleigh Review, Spillway, Best of the Net, and the Jacar Press anthology What Matters. A former Peace Corps volunteer, he lives with his family in Los Angeles.
NightBallet Press is honored and extremely pleased to publish Dream Drive, containing forty-five poems on sixty pages. Divided into four sections: The Book of Us, The Book of Others, Horsies, and Portraits of Earth, Dream Drive will steal your heart and take you on a journey of discovery and delight. You may order Dream Drive for only $10 plus $4 shipping/handling, through PayPal right here on this website (scroll down the right-side column), or find it on Amazon. Of course, if you live in Los Angeles, you can get it directly from the poet himself!
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