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Raised in the World of Everyday Poets by Darlene O'Dell

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“Have you heard of the flawless, beautifully cut Blue Jager diamonds? Darlene O'Dell’s book is one such. It begins with these lines: ‘the creak of an old trunk’—a window to the soul indeed! Every haibun reveals a couple’s personalities, each facet clear as day. It’s a poignant and layered tribute written by a doting child. This book is not to be missed.”

— Kala Ramesh


“In their very authenticity, Darlene O’Dell’s haiku and haibun both capture and transcend the personal. Vivid snippets of family folklore—forklift and coffee cup miracles—help us recall our own. The fine texture of her memories—constricting patent leather shoes, scratchy lawn chairs—elicit similar (or the same!) sensations in others. But the unifying thread here is poetry, a lifeline from parent to child to adult—one that may not save us from life’s adversities, but just might sustain us.”

— Scott Mason


About the Author:

Darlene O’Dell’s poetry has been published in Modern Haiku, Sonic Boom, Contemporary Haibun, Frogpond, Presence, Wales Haiku Journal, failed haiku, Under the Bashō, and the museum of americana. Her other works include The Story of the Philadelphia Eleven (Seabury Books, 2014), Sites of Southern Memory: The Autobiographies of Katharine Du Pre Lumpkin, Lillian Smith, and Pauli Murray (University Press of Virginia, 2001), I Followed Close Behind Her (Spinsters Ink, 2003), and numerous articles. She was a teacher at Clemson University and William and Mary and is the founder of Freewrite Fridays. She lives in the mountains of North Carolina.
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