Surprise! It’s poetry.

It’s a chapbook, sometimes called “a slim volume.” (Which, now that I think about it, isn’t a bad description of my friend Kathleen herself, the author of A Cage in Search of a Bird.)

And if you’re like me–needing more than EVER to buffer the beginnings of each day with not-TV-news imagery, universal truths, or just plain fun wordplay–this little chapbook is just the thing.

Since Kathleen is a Lopez Islander like me (and a member of my writing group) it seems most fitting to describe her latest collection in the words of another fellow Lopezian (and onetime member of said writing group), H.M. Sanders:

Sometimes tongue-in-cheek but always insightful and brimming with poetic vignettes provided by nature’s gifts, Kathleen Holliday‘s new collection is thought provoking, wise, and rich with island imagery.  Like a beachcomber of her own life, she picks up the most unassuming objects and uses the lighthouse beam of her poet’s eye to show us the beauty and sadness embedded there. These poems are quieter than her previous works; a little richer with imagery and a little darker, with beautifully wrought images derived from everyday occurrences that she elevates to higher observations of our world and our understanding of it. In this age of social media, AI, and the frantic noise of news and the horrors of our world, the profound gift of Holliday’s poems ring quiet and true – this collection of poems is a calm anchor that links us back to our spiritual roots.

–H.M. Sanders, author of The Widowed Warlock, and Ringmaker fantasy series.

Please visit Kathleen’s website to learn more about her poetry and to order a copy (or two–Christmas presents?) of her latest chapbook, OR her previous two: Boatman, Pass By, and Putting My Ash on the Line.

To summarize: Feeling disheartened? Start each day with a poem. Pass it on.