Elaine Heveron writes of her world-its thingness-with relish and
affection, each poem offering artifacts of a shareable life-the books that
shaped her (Boomer) generation, silver earrings, a handmade felted hat, the
novelty of a warm January day, the funky textured tights that capture the
essence of a treasured friend, and rituals in a marriage with a man who is also
a perfect companion. Each poem is a box of keepsakes, and each becomes a
keepsake for the reader.
Leslie Ullman, author of three poetry collections, winner of the Yale
Series of Younger Poets Award, the Iowa Poetry Prize and recipient of two
NEA Fellowships
Elaine Heveron has an amazing ability to discover treasures in the
ordinary-a passing encounter with a stranger, a bit of casual conversation,
small coincidences. Her poems trace the powerful infl uences of the past
in the present and the weight of personal experience. Light and dark, the
serious and the playful are part of her vision-observant, compassionate,
deeply engaged in our humanity.
Gladys Swan, author of Carnival for the Gods, winner of the Tate Prize for
Poetry and the Lawrence Foundation Award for Fiction
Elaine Heveron's poetry is intimate. A painful recollection of the
wedding dance she did not dance. The scent of a friend on an unexpected
gift. The joy of a loving encounter with a long lost friend. Her poems pull
me deep into the moment she is exploring, as she unwraps it until I fi nd
something of my own life in hers. As Mystie the cat sidles her way from
poem to poem, I see every cat I ever knew. And that is a good thing.
Mark Hare, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
In Elaine Heveron's poems epiphanies are revealed through an awareness
of the ongoing, everyday life we all lead, but too few of us truly see in the
way she manages to. Through her keen observation, and even keener
emotional connections, we too can cut through the clutter of our own
lives,while reading these poems, to glimpse, along with her, those rare fl ashes
of recognition and knowing.
Joe Flaherty, Writers and Books, Rochester, NY
