Roy K. Hall | Was the West Really Won By Horses and Women? | Gazelle Books

This is a collection of poems, stories, and prayers straight from the heart of Roy K Hall, a cowboy who has seen it all. The pain of love lost, the joy of a grandchild’s discovery, the thrill of the hunt. Roy shares these and many more experiences of his life with gentle humour, startling honesty, and pure wonder. Roy’s stories are vignettes of his life’s journey; his prayers are heartfelt and spoken as if to a friend. His poetry is written with both tenderness and clarity. Every reader will relate to the joy he finds in his children and grandchildren, the sadness he feels when he finds himself alone, his orneriness when he plays practical jokes on his buddies. Roy’s straightforward, simple style will envelop you, the clarity of his voice will lift you up. Everyone has a little cowboy in them; these poems, stories, and prayers are sure to help you find yours! Continue reading

Sheema Kalbasi | Seven Valleys of Love | Gazelle Books

These peoms are written with a piercing clarity and a profound intensity of emotion. Kalbasi’s ability to preserve the integrity and poetical sensibility of the work is evident in her mastery of language, editing, and translation. “Seven Valleys of Love” is a vibrant celebration of extraordinary women’s voices. The colourful and lively verses in this dazzling collection emerge as small, quiet explosions out of the shadows of hopelessness and seek to inspire and restore peace, hope, and harmony in its people. This stunning anthology of love and loss bears witness to a passionate and sorrowful longing, a deep plaintiveness for the ageless plight of expression. Continue reading

Brent MacLaine | Wind and Root | Gazelle Books

The poems in “Wind and Root” emerge from two powerful and sometimes contradictory forces in the poet’s life: one, the rural traditions, landscapes and seascapes of his native province, and the other, a profound desire to move and see beyond those boundaries. Brent MacLaine’s work displays a range of poetical responses – lyrical, tragic, dramatic, realistic, ironic, humourous – from an imagination that swings between the experiences of there and away – of wind – and the experiences of here and home – of root. The power and craft of these poems belie that this is the author’s first book. Continue reading