This is the third chapbook of poems by Andy Roberts that NBP has published, and there's a reason we keep on keepin' on with his work...we just can't get enough of his mouthwatering poetry!
C. W. Everett, senior editor at Pudding House Productions, has this to say about the book:
"Yeasayer...is a pensive collection, a philosophical reflection on the questions human beings encounter at we age. Is there any meaning to all this life and living? Have we done alright in the time we have had? Is there comfort and peace waiting for us?
These poems are compact by design, filled with brilliant language and a keen sense of place. Roberts' eye for detail is well-trained and discerning. His grasp of the natural world forms a grounded and credible universe filled with amazement. Roberts seems always to be building a world in which he can feel comfortable and make sense of things as much by instinct as logic. The tone is conversational and the poems are accessible intellectually and emotionally.
Quiet wisdom flows from these poems; the poet directs us toward understanding and most importantly, a kind of beautiful acceptance, even forgiveness of ourselves for not understanding sooner. As always, Roberts' strong voice draws us in and holds us gently from beginning to end."
One of NBP's favorite poems in Yeasayer is "Our Leaves Shaped Like Hearts":
Our Leaves Shaped Like Hearts
Every year I am turning
more and more into the river birch
I planted just east of the kitchen window
as a six-foot sapling.
Our skin becomes the same color every August,
and we share the same texture as we age.
Our roots join as we touch hands beneath the house,
as we tap into the underground river that flows.
Our green leaves shaped like hearts
turn yellow in November, fall on still days
with a sound the finches remember
as they lose their gold wings to brown.
We grow old together,
one to sky and the other returning to earth
from where we started as single seeds,
our limbs reaching out to hold the birds.
Yeasayer boasts a gorgeous front-cover color photograph by gifted Ohio photographer Chandra Alderman, printed on crisp white linen cardstock. A matching royal-purple inner cardstock complements the photograph. The 24 poems - 32 pages total - are printed on snow-white paper.
Yeasayer is available beginning today, March 4, 2016, for only $5 plus $3 shipping/handling. You can order it right here through PayPal with one touch of the button! Get your copy and relax into a world of "Pagan Purples" and "Rain Moving Off" and "Windy & Warm"...just in time for Spring!
Andy Roberts lives in Columbus, Ohio, where he handles finances for disabled veterans. His poems have appeared in a long list of small press and literary journals over the past thirty years, including Albatross, Atlanta Review, Chiron Review, Coal City Review, Fulcrum, Hiram Poetry Review, The Sow's Ear Poetry Review, Plainsongs, and Slipstream. His poetry has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize four times.
