Karin L. Frank's chapbook, A Meeting of Minds, is full of beautiful, intellectual poetry . . . and also my artwork! |
Last winter I had a
pleasant opportunity to create a series of ink drawings to illustrate a poetry
chapbook by a friend of mine, Karin L. Frank.
My first thought, when my
friend approached me, was, “a poetry
chapbook? Seriously?”
Ah, but then I read the
poems.
Several had already been
published in other—as in, “mainstream”—print media, such as the Kansas City Star or Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction.
I’d already known that my friend
wrote interesting science fiction (prose), but the marriage of sophisticated
science concepts with the poetry art form produced something rich and
extraordinary indeed.
Karin titled her chapbook A Meeting of Minds: Poems from the Two
Cultures, a reference to C. P. Snow’s concept of the sciences and the
humanities as being two different “cultures” in “the intellectual life of the
whole of Western Society.”
My holistic view of the
world sees the two as integrally linked as the sides of a coin—not a strange
thought to science fiction readers and writers. But the rest of Western society
appears to see more of a chasm between the two.
If a chasm exists,
however, these poems bridge it to elegant, often humorous satisfaction. Poetry is too seldom
appreciated, these days, unless it is in the form of song lyrics. I hope some
of my readers will find it worthwhile to click the Amazon link or go to Wolfweyr and open Karin’s
rich vision for themselves.
Meanwhile, she’s
authorized me to offer a sample:
Ecological
Niche
She finds her level
on a suitable tree
where sunlight strikes,
nestles at the spot
where grubs grow plump
for baby birds,
nurtures and grooms
until wings feather out
and flocks of fledglings
depart.
She remains and ripens.
Matured, plumage
reverted to scales,
she slithers down the
tree,
and
returns to earth.
Topological
Twist
A torus and a cup
are alike to a topologist
but it’s messy
when I try to
Drink tea
from the doughnut
I’m
dunking in it.
IMAGE
CREDITS: Cover design is by Jan S. Gephardt, © 2012 by Honey Bee Publishing, and
used with permission. Both interior illustrations are © 2012 by Jan S.
Gephardt.
POETRY
CREDITS: “Ecological Niche” and “Topological Twist” are © 2012 by Karin L.
Frank, all rights reserved, and are reproduced here with the author’s
permission. Please contact Honey Bee Publishing, P.O. Box 404, Odessa, MO 64076, for
further information.
Very nice review, Jan. I've been meaning to blog about Karin's book, too, but you've done it better justice than I could.
ReplyDeleteJan - It's been too long since I caught up with your blog - you've been doing some exciting work! good to see...
ReplyDeleteMany thanks to both of you! I'm glad you enjoyed this article!
ReplyDeleteHi guys, Thanks to both of you for the wonderful review of this chapbook and the insightful comments. Let me just add that I had to forgo the Wolfweyr website because the name was too esoteric. (A wolf weyr is a den of wolves, BTW) I am now blogging, etc. on my new website, karinlfrank.com. I hope that is more straightforward but I couldn't let go of the cherished photos of my wolvish pals. they still decorate the front page.
ReplyDelete