Between the House and the Sea

My poem ‘Between the House and the Sea' has tied for First Place in the 2022 Voices of Lincoln Poetry Contest. I will be reading it live in Lincoln, California on Sunday, October 16th. Here is the poem:

Between the House and the Sea

 

Through water so transparent

you only know it's there

because it glints in the setting sun,

you glimpse pebbles gleaming

in the creek bed.

 

The frigid crystallinity

of this February evening,

like the light of your mind,

cannot grasp the question

of who you are, standing here

as unmoving as a bubble in an icicle.

 

Behind you, the house glowers

down the landscape from darkened

windows that tell no secrets.

 

In front of you, the bay booms

its wintry dirge. And even farther

beyond, the Pacific stretches west,

to spill unseen over the horizon.

 

At your feet, the icy stream asks,

Why do you stand here,

between the shrouded house

and the endless sea?

Ekphrastic Poetry

My article about the composition of ekphrastic poetry (poetry about works of art) has just been published on Yellow Arrow Publishing’s blog
https://www.yellowarrowpublishing.com/news/composition-ekphrastic-poetry-dooling-reynard. The article includes my poem “First Movement.” Check it out!

The Swan

My poem, "The Swan," has been accepted for publication by The Rainbow Poems. I will post the link to the poem as soon as it goes live.

This poem is based on a video of a wheelchair-bound and dejected old lady in a rest home who, when hearing the music of "Swan Lake," comes alive and remembers the arm gestures of when she danced the part of the Swan Princess Odette many years before.       

Two of my poems in a new anthology

I have just received my advance copy of Reimagine America: An Anthology For the Future (Edited by Mark Lipman, Vagabond Books, 2022 ) which contains two of my poems, "Why?" and "Off Center."

 I am honored to be included in this important anthology which contains poetry, art, and essays  addressing the times we are in, where we are obliged to acknowledge that "As we begin to emerge from the shadows of some very dark years....it has become more than apparent that there is just no going back to normal, for normal was never just." (Mark Lipman, editor). Contributors include a broad range of poets, artists, and writers, including United States Poet Laureate Joy Harjo, addressing civil unrest, COVID, climate change, racial inequality, dark money in politics, police brutality, and a host of other problematic issues that have come to a head in the past two years.

 

 

 

Other published works...

In addition to writing poetry, I have also edited the following books honoring the co-founders of Parabola Magazine: my mother, D. M Dooling, and P. L. Travers, author of the Mary Poppins series. I worked for Parabola as Editorial Assistant and Co-Editor from 1988 to 1995.

A Lively Oracle: A Centennial Celebration of P. L. Travers, Author of Mary Poppins (Larson Publications, 1999)

This book focuses on Travers's broad range of literary works and only touches very lightly on her private life, as she would have wished. 

        

The Paths I Found: Writings and talks of D. M. Dooling (South Forty Press, 2018)

This volume includes Dooling's Parabola articles and Focuses (Dooling's unique editorials), her talks and writings about the Gurdjieff teaching, and her poetry.

 

I also served as Guest Editor for the following 4 issues of The Gurdjieff International Review

            - A Teacher of Dancing: Vol 5, No. 1

            - Pupils of Gurdjieff: Vol. 13, No 1 & 2, Vol. 14, No 2

 

My most recent publication is my poetry chapbook, No Batteries Required (Yellow Arrow Publishing, 2021)