{"id":2028,"date":"2019-12-08T11:21:09","date_gmt":"2019-12-08T19:21:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.maureeneppstein.com\/mve_journal\/?p=2028"},"modified":"2019-12-08T11:21:09","modified_gmt":"2019-12-08T19:21:09","slug":"looking-back-at-a-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.maureeneppstein.com\/mve_journal\/?p=2028","title":{"rendered":"Looking back at a life"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Horizon<\/a>

The cover image is a detail from the watercolor painting \u201cUnder the Fog\u201d by Mendocino Coast artist Karen Bowers<\/a>.<\/p><\/div>\n

So far this blog has been a form of memoir: small stories and reflections about some aspect of my history. Today I break that pattern to tell you about another aspect of my writing life, poetry. I\u2019m excited to announce that my latest collection of poems, Horizon Line<\/em>, will be published next April by Main Street Rag Publishing Co. The publisher has set up a handsome webpage<\/a> where you can place pre-publication orders at a substantial discount from the $14 list price.<\/p>\n

Horizon Line<\/em> is also a kind of memoir. The title poem sets the theme of the book: \u201cTo limn a life in perspective \u2026\u201d\u00a0 From my house on the Mendocino Coast in Northern California, I watch the sea fog move in and out, changing as it does the viewer\u2019s perception of where the horizon is. I use this variability as a metaphor for what it\u2019s like to look back on my life. Here\u2019s the poem in full:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Horizon Line<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

To limn a life in perspective<\/span>
\n the artist first defines<\/span>
\n a horizon line eye level to the viewer.<\/span><\/p>\n

From my hill of years the horizon<\/span>
\n is fluid as in watery, but also<\/span>
\n as in unpredictable.<\/span><\/p>\n

On the sea\u2019s face a wall of fog<\/span>
\n moves in and out like histories<\/span>
\n remembered and forgotten.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sometimes silver striates the sea<\/span>
\n with such a glitter of insight<\/span>
\n I am bedazzled and cannot look.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sometimes fogbank and ocean<\/span>
\n merge with such blue-gray unity<\/span>
\n it seems the horizon rises<\/span><\/p>\n

so that I stand on the shore<\/span>
\n dwarfed by a surf of knowledge<\/span>
\n that pounds at my ignorance.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sometimes the sea becomes invisible<\/span>
\n the white air a questioning emptiness<\/span>
\n a finger-touch of damp against the cheek.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Indigo Moor, Poet Laureate of Sacramento Emeritus, said this about the collection:<\/p>\n

In her new poetry collection, Horizon Line<\/em>, Maureen Eppstein takes an imagistic look at the systole and diastole of the immigrant experience. Divided into four chambers, Horizon Line<\/em> presents a New Zealand eye\u2019s view of the American experience, from the landing on these shores, through the struggle for spirituality, and, finally, to the unerring clarity of the clearing at the end of the path.<\/span><\/p>\n

Like a retrospective exhibition of an artist\u2019s work, I see this book as a summing up of my spiritual and artistic \u00a0journey. I would be honored to have you as one of my readers. Again, here\u2019s the link for ordering Horizon Line<\/em><\/a>:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

So far this blog has been a form of memoir: small stories and reflections about some aspect of my history. Today I break that pattern to tell you about another aspect of my writing life, poetry. I\u2019m excited to announce that my latest collection of poems, Horizon Line, will be published next April by Main […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[76,9,396,7],"tags":[541,543,542],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maureeneppstein.com\/mve_journal\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2028"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maureeneppstein.com\/mve_journal\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maureeneppstein.com\/mve_journal\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maureeneppstein.com\/mve_journal\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maureeneppstein.com\/mve_journal\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2028"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.maureeneppstein.com\/mve_journal\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2028\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2035,"href":"https:\/\/www.maureeneppstein.com\/mve_journal\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2028\/revisions\/2035"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maureeneppstein.com\/mve_journal\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2028"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maureeneppstein.com\/mve_journal\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2028"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maureeneppstein.com\/mve_journal\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2028"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}