Acclaimed Michigan Poet Looks at the Human Need to Explain and Measure

BRUNSWICK, Maine - Aug. 20, 2018 - PRLog -- Award-winning poet and writer Carol Smallwood found herself doing what we all do—seeking explanations for everything we experience. There is a human need for explanation, she realized, and so we devise a variety of yardsticks to measure everything around us. Smallwood's latest collection of poems explores this human compulsion.

In the Measuring, was recently published by Shanti Arts Publishing in Brunswick, Maine. A master of the ordinary, Smallwood explores the notion of measurement by looking at melting ice cubes, the changing seasons, aging, the dance of Mayflies, shoe sizes, and much more. But she states her conclusion early on: "Even if clearly explained by science — / there's mystery in the measuring." All our attempts at measuring and explaining are futile in the end.

Carol Smallwood has written or edited over five dozen books in the genres of poetry, creative nonfiction, nonfiction, and anthology. Her book Women on Poetry: Tips on Writing, Revising, Publishing and Teaching is on Poets & Writers' List of Best Books for Writers. Recent anthologies include: Genealogy and the Librarian: Perspectives on Research, Instruction, Outreach and Management (McFarland, 2018); Writing After Retirement: Tips by Successful Retired Writers (Rowman & Littlefield, 2014); and Bringing the Arts into the Library: An Outreach Handbook (American Library Association, 2014). Recent poetry collections include Water, Earth, Air, Fire, and Picket Fences (Lamar University Press, 2014); Divining the Prime Meridian (WordTech Editions, 2015); In Hubble's Shadow (Shanti Arts, 2017); Prisms, Particles, and Refractions (Finishing Line Press, 2017, nominated for the Society of Midland Authors Award in Poetry); and A Matter of Selection (Poetic Matrix Press, 2018). Her collection of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction, Visits and Other Passages (Finishing Line Press: November 2018) is forthcoming, and her collection of essays, Interweavings, was published in 2017 (Shanti Arts). Smallwood, who has founded and supports humane societies, has received multiple Pushcart Prize nominations. She is in such references as Who's Who in America; Who's Who in the World; and Wikipedia.

In the Measuring has garnered wide acclaim:

"This collection is written by a questioning, roving, interesting mind. It seeks out mysteries, wonders how things happen, why things are as they are. Daily epiphanies ripen into home-grown adages."
— Sharon Chmielarz, finalist, Next Generation Indie Book Awards in New York

"Smallwood is a skilled and thoughtful poet. Her work is a joy to read."
— Eleanor Lerman, poet, The Sensual World Re-Emerges, Sarabande Books

"The poet draws the reader physically from the intimate elements of everyday life to the universe in which we live."
— Aline Soules, poet, Meditation on Woman, Anaphora Literary Press

"It's Smallwood's quiet questioning that ties this remarkable collection together for me, making these very personal poems not only political, but universal."
— Kate Hopper, teacher, The Loft Literary Center and author, Ready for Air: A Journey Through Premature Motherhood, winner of a MIPA Midwest Book Award

"Brief and evocative, these poems hold moments still and reward the reader who enters them."
— Laurie Kincer, William N. Skirball Writers' Center specialist, Cuyahoga County Public Library, Cleveland, Ohio

In the Measuring is a production of Shanti Arts Publishing in Brunswick, Maine. It is now available and may be purchased through all major online booksellers and many select bookstores. Retail outlets may order books from Ingram.

ISBN: 978-1-947067-38-7  |  $ 14.95  |  softcover
more information: http://www.shantiarts.co