Find Praise for January
Pairs well with quiet reflection, inner strength, a crisp rosé, a steaming cup of Earl Grey
The stark beauty of the winter tree is a strong metaphor for this collection of contemporary poems. In Find Praise for January, Colorado poet Shirley Van Cleef Sullivan encapsulates the determination and hope of a woman who has overcome many of life’s most difficult trials: cancer, loss, divorce, and even the indignities of aging. But, as her work shows, her life has also been punctuated by the healing grace of nature.
“Shirley Sullivan’s Find Praise for January works its way toward a remarkable proclamation and a final freedom…. The pain and suffering of that life — a journey through divorce, breast cancer, and the trials of aging — is rendered in poems that are at once bracing and empathic.” —John Brehm, author of Help Is on the Way
“In Shirley Sullivan's collection of poems, Find Praise for January, she exposes us to the raw and tender core of this wintry month with breathtaking honesty and piercing imagery….This book is bound to help you find praise for January, the capacity of the human spirit, and for this fine poet.” —Martha Kalin, author of How to Hold a Flying River and Afterlife and Mango
“Shirley Sullivan’s poetry sings strong and clear, the hallmark of a voice shaped by the wisdom of years. In Find Praise for January, we encounter a poet who both lives and grieves fully, who embraces her tender, heartbreaking life with reflective depth.” —Joy Roulier Sawyer, author of Tongues of Men and Angels and Lifeguards
Shirley Van Cleef Sullivan has been a trail cook in the Rockies, a student of French clowning, and a classical singer. She has studied the work of Carl Jung for more than 20 years and is a leader with the Guild for Sacred Studies. Her poems have appeared in several journals, including Pilgrimage, Psychological Perspectives, Tiger’s Eye, and Sow’s Ear.
Find Praise for January: Poems
$15.00, February 2021, 76 pages
Contemporary poetry
Print: 978-1-7339887-0-4
Ebook: 978-1-7339887-1-1