Bagging the Phoenix explores the nature of human emotion and the freedom and chains of the non-denominational human soul. The title is a metaphor for the “hunting” and “trapping” associated with the failures and successes of personal evolution and growth. The collection—15 years in the making—gracefully marries bittersweet aspects of life and death, love and tragedy, as well as the higher self.
The poetic verse in Bagging the Phoenix explores an odyssey that began with the harsh winters of adolescence, culminating in a wiser view of the world. Gentle sarcasm lightens densely provocative issues without abandoning the themes of love, loss and transcendence. The collection was written existentially and intuitively about this world and beyond.
Venus Freezing is a rhythmic, tangoing of words — a lyrical anomaly of verse and hard-hitting imagery. The title was inspired by the ink and oil — Sine Cerere et Libero friget Venus (Without Ceres and Bacchus, Venus Would Freeze, c. 1600 - 1603) — which was created by the Dutch graphic artist and painter Hendrick Goltzius, c. 1558 - 1617.
Venus Freezing comprises Congelata, Sanguine, Opera, and Intuito — four distinctive chapters that accompany a cautious, malleable heart through evident processes of growth. New prose melds blunt-force candor with facetious humor to create a quick-witted read. Interpretive verbiage continues to challenge the emotional psyche. Venus Freezing also provides a glimpse through the creative eye of the author featuring some of her black and white film-based photography.
