Hatboro Poet Signs Book Deal, Releases First Full Collection

Dec. 28, 2010 - PRLog -- Hatboro, Pennsylvania resident Tracy R. Franklin has recently seen the release of her first full collection of poetry. JMS Books LLC, an independent publishing company in Virginia, has published Angst, Anger, Love, Hope.

Franklin, who makes her living as a freelance writer and editor, has been writing poetry for several years. Her poems have appeared in a variety of small journals, including A Little Poetry and Pen Himalaya.

Angst, Anger, Love, Hope, as described by the publisher, “is an honest look at what it means to be socially, economically, and emotionally disenfranchised” and is “both a plaintive cry and an introspective analysis.”

Though at first glance Franklin appears to be a typical suburban mother, she is well suited to explore the theme of disenfranchisement. A self-described introvert by nature, she spent many years as a struggling single mother living just at or above the poverty level. She finished her degree by both working and attending classes full time. Franklin credits her mother, who provided free childcare during this time, as an enormous help to her.

As her professional life developed, Franklin's physical health began to deteriorate. Simple muscle tightness that she'd experienced for years and attributed to an active lifestyle became nearly unbearable, and she began to have random shooting and stabbing pains. Eventually, she began experiencing muscle cramping and twitching as well. After more than a dozen years of growing symptoms, she was finally diagnosed with a disorder called cramp fasciculation syndrome, but even that, she says, doesn't quite seem to fit. An oddity in some genetic testing has led to a referral to a university neuromuscular specialist, but as of now, Franklin is still on a waiting list for an appointment.

Although her poetry does not deal with her neuromuscular disease, Franklin says that her experiences with sundry dismissive and rude doctors in the past certainly contributed to her sympathy for all of those who struggle to be taken seriously. “I can make it the five or ten steps across a neurologist's office just fine,” she says, “so it's hard to make doctors understand what I'm feeling. If they could see me after a trip to the mall for a birthday present, though, they'd see that I can barely make it to my car, and once I'm there, it takes me a heck of a long time to fold my body into the seat.”

The “About the Poet” section of Franklin's book says that she “works to raise awareness of cramp fasciculation syndrome and neuromyotonia, two related and little understood neuromuscular disorders.” She does this by writing a blog and facilitating a Facebook group, though she admits that she does not update them often, because “computer use has become excruciating. The pain is entirely disproportionate.”

What computer-use difficulties mean for her writing, Franklin isn't sure. Right now, she's simply hoping that one of the medicines used to treat cramp fasciculation syndrome will finally work for her. She's toyed with the idea of dictation software, but acknowledges that running through her ideas by speaking them aloud would take some getting used to.

Angst, Anger, Love, Hope is available in print from Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/Angst-Anger-Love-Tracy-Franklin/dp/...), and available in a variety of electronic formats from multiple retailers. Links to all are available at http://www.tracyrfranklin.com/.