LB Sedlacek reviews Septuagenarian

Septuagenarian: Love is What Happens When I Die
By Sherry Quan Lee
102 pages
ISBN: 978-1-61599-568-4
Modern History Press
Copyright 2021

Review by LB Sedlacek

Septuagenarian by Sherry Quan LeeSherry Quan Lee has put together an unsettling yet brilliant juxtaposition of sweet and sad, love and anger that will hit you right at your emotional core. The collection Septuagenarian feels almost like heartfelt portraits of pain, disconnection, and strength all rolled into one.

Her poems, though, delve deeper beyond emotion presenting lines that achieve poignancy with their build-up. Context is important with any poem and Quan Lee achieves that. Her poems are fulfilling and real.

Her approach is straightforward. Poems examining her life till now offer personal and compelling details. She invites us to participate in her struggle, her internal voyages throughout the years. Her descriptions are vivid and they allow us to see beyond the setting into her internal strife.

Each poem stands alone, but each poem complements the other poem before it. Same with each section of the book. The author doesn’t let you forget that she is human and willing to bare her soul within her verses.

It’s a well-crafted book. Her words will seep into your heart and then some.

U.P. Reader -- Volume #5 [HC]

978-1-61599-572-1
$28.95
: Bringing Upper Michigan Literature to the World
In stock
1
Product Details
UPC: 978-1-61599-572-1
Brand: Modern HIstory Press
Binding: Hardcover
Edition: 1st
Author: Mikel Classen & Deborah K. Frontiera
Pages: 154
Publication Date: 05-01-2021

Michigan's Upper Peninsula is blessed with a treasure trove of storytellers, poets, and historians, all seeking to capture a sense of Yooper Life from settler's days to the far-flung future. Since 2017, the U.P. Reader offers a rich collection of their voices that embraces the U.P.'s natural beauty and way of life, along with a few surprises.

The forty-one short works in this fifth annual volume take readers on U.P. road and boat trips from the Keweenaw to the Soo. Every page is rich with descriptions of the characters and culture that make the Upper Peninsula worth living in and writing about. U.P. writers span genres from humor to history and from science fiction to poetry. This issue also includes imaginative fiction from the Dandelion Cottage Short Story Award winners, honoring the amazing young writers enrolled in all of the U.P.'s schools.

Featuring the words of Karen Dionne, Barbara Bartel, T. Marie Bertineau, Don Bodey, Craig A. Brockman, Stephanie Brule, Larry Buege, Tricia Carr, Deborah K. Frontiera, Elizabeth Fust, Robert Grede, Charles Hand, Kathy Johnson, Sharon Kennedy, Chris Kent, Tamara Lauder, Teresa Locknane, Ellen Lord, Becky Ross Michael, Hilton Moore, Gretchen Preston, Donna Searight Simons, Frank Searight, T. Kilgore Splake, Ninie G. Syarikin, Tyler Tichelaar, Brandy Thomas, Donna Winters, Annabell Danker, Kyra Holmgren, Nicholas Painer, and Walter Dennis.

"Funny, wise, or speculative, the essays, memoirs, and poems found in the pages of these profusely illustrated annuals are windows to the history, soul, and spirit of both the exceptional land and people found in Michigan's remarkable U.P. If you seek some great writing about the northernmost of the state's two peninsulas look around for copies of the U.P. Reader. --Tom Powers, Michigan in Books

"U.P. Reader offers a wonderful mix of storytelling, poetry, and Yooper culture. Here's to many future volumes!" --Sonny Longtine, author of Murder in Michigan's Upper Peninsula

"As readers embark upon this storied landscape, they learn that the people of Michigan's Upper Peninsula offer a unique voice, a tribute to a timeless place too long silent." --Sue Harrison, international bestselling author of Mother Earth Father Sky

"I was amazed by the variety of voices in this volume. U.P. Reader offers a little of everything, from short stories to nature poetry, fantasy to reality, Yooper lore to humor. I look forward to the next issue." --Jackie Stark, editor, Marquette Monthly

The U.P. Reader is sponsored by the Upper Peninsula Publishers and Authors Association (UPPAA) a non-profit 501(c)3 corporation. A portion of proceeds from each copy sold will be donated to the UPPAA for its educational programming.

Learn more at www.UPReader.org

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