In this, her second collection of poems, Tania Pryputniewicz evokes the sensations and emotions of a sensitive child in a Midwestern commune, coming of age in a small town on the Russian River in California, finding herself as a poet, navigating difficult years of marriage and motherhood, and the heartbreaking loss of her own mother. The image of the Tarot Fool, wise innocent and eternal adventurer, weaves throughout the book.
About the Author :
Tania Pryputniewicz is the author of the full-length poetry collection November Butterfly (Saddle Road Press, 2014), and Heart's Compass Tarot: Discover Tarot Journaling and Create Your Own Cards (Two Fine Crows Books, 2021).Her poetry has appeared in numerous journals and anthologies.As teacher and tarot muse, Tania is a loving catalyst, helping others bring forth their stories through improvisation in poetry, memoir, art, and tarot. It is her joy to provide witness as other writers, artists, and seekers find confidence in their voices and arrive at a deeper sense of self-love and awareness.A graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop, Tania teaches poetry and tarot-inspired writing classes for San Diego Writers, Ink and Antioch University's Continuing Education program as well as private courses through her website. She brings decades of experience reading tarot cards to her courses.She is a reader for the International Memoir Writers Association's Shaking the Tree and Memoir Showcase, a reader for San Diego Writers, Ink's A Year in Ink, a poetry judge for the San Diego Writers Festival KidsWrite! Program, and a poetry peer reviewer for Whale Road Review.She lives in Coronado, California with her husband, three children, one blue-eyed Siberian Husky named Sisu, and a formerly feral feline named Luna.Connect with Tania through her website: taniapryputniewicz.com or on Instagram: @heartscompasstarot.
Review :
"Look implores Tania Pryputniewicz's artfully orchestrated memoir in poems. Remember and re-imagine intone these stunning narratives. In lush imagery and exacting detail; with vulnerability, wit and wisdom; one woman's life unfolds. From confused communal girlhood, to questioning an unpredictable father, to wrestling with parents' divorce, to maturing as poet, wife and mother, to the heartbreaking chronicle of a dying mother's journey, the riveting thread of The Fool in the Corn, is the growing resonance of a woman's voice: tentative, tender, fierce and emboldened. In such company, the reader, fellow traveler, is inspired to bring back, without apology, all that you dare." Barbara Rockman -author of "to cleave," and "Sting and Nest"
"Tania Pryputniewicz weaves the realities of a commune-lived childhood into the complexities of adulthood, marriage, motherhood, and parental death. These poems are image-strong and grounded in nature, and reflect Tarot's The Fool - beginner, adventurer, believer - who doesn't shy from the shift necessary for personal growth. Traveling from Illinois, to California, to Iowa, and back to California, the poems highlight the mysteries of the natural world, the struggle in relationship, the sorrow in loss. There's a call to 'bring back, without apology, all that you dare.' There's a search for 'answers that can only be lived.' The poet 'lives' in these poems, exploring the 'dark harp of the human heart' without flinching, at times the leader and caretaker, at times the 'outlier in a field of corn.' These hard-earned poems invite us to 'look, ' remember, forgive, and claim the faith of The Fool just as the poet does, finding beauty in the ordinary and comfort in imagination." Sandy Coomer -author of The Broken Places
"The Fool in the Corn wows me with its exquisite detail: these poems help us hear the snow melt and sense the musky aftertaste of goat milk ice cream. In this memoir-in-poems, Tania Pryputniewicz explores family relationships, moving from her own childhood in a commune through her parents' divorce to her own marriage, parenting, and loss of her mother. She has woven corn fields and autobiography with tarot cards and mythology, and the results are riveting. 'This life I've earned and shaped reopens with every page I risk writing, ' Tania says in her author's note. The rest of us are so fortunate that she keeps taking the risk." Katie Manning -author of Tasty Other and 28,065 Nights
