Shapes of Time

"When I read Glenna Cook's poems, Aaron Copland's music plays in my ear. Her portrayal of life is simple, universal, and unnervingly complex. Cook's Shapes of Time is an arc of a woman's life, a life shaped by traditions and rhythm, a mirror of reflection. She gives us a litany of thanks, expressions of disappointment, unimaginable grief, unbridled joy, that in the end are unfinished-life cut short, for it is never long enough. We understand how she 'will leave behind a long/list of books I wanted to read/friends I could have shared/pie...' She compels us to ask don't all want to share pie, to embrace life, its complexities, in the simplest, yet most poignant language?" -Josie Emmons Turner, Tacoma Poet Laureate Emerita "Glenna Cook's voice is a steadying one. She teaches us lessons, whether it's from a Hopper painting of a Pennsylvania miner, an elephant necklace, or a homeless encampment. In panning for gold, she gives us back wisdom and assays the rich veins of memory that leads to poetry. Cook invites us in to reflect on the sanctuary that can come from discord. Her voice rings as true as Emily Dickinson's in celebrating our humanity. 'A poem is prose dressed up for a party' Cook reminds us." -Michael Magee, author of Terra Firma (MoonPath Press)