The Edge of Everything traces Jo Bower's evolving family relationships, as well as the challenges and gifts of aging. It also celebrates local landscapes and nourishing encounters with the natural and human world as it documents the poet's journey toward living as her most authentic self.
About the Author :
Jo Bower's passions encompass unexpected treasures found in the natural world, healing through authentic human connections and the craggy coasts of Massachusetts and Maine. From her upbringing in a small New England seaside town, to adventures in West Africa, to the vagaries and challenges of intimate relationships, this book follows the arc of Bower's life from childhood to cronehood. Her many insights into the hidden gifts of aging, relationships and personal growth carry universal wisdom.
Review :
Jo Bower, in her debut poetry collection, The Edge of Everything, gives us a brave sojourn into her deeply evocative story with a sense of vital collective wisdom we can relate to and draw strength from. Her poetry at once enlightens and delves deeply into the mystery and fortitude of hope, healing, and discovery. Bower explores the turning of seasons with a daughter and a mother. Many honest explorations into love and growth that also reflect the cherished landscapes of her life. These places: oceans and lakes, wildernesses and edges of the known, are the connective tissue at The Edge of Everything. Her poems help us peer into our own uncertainty with grace and courage.
-Laurie McMillan, Writing Facilitator, writes
Jo Bower's poetry is infused with images and sensations from a lifetime of becoming: of human touchstones, re-envisioned perspectives, and always nature's reassurance. Her sensibility and prisms of appreciation shine through in this unfolding coming-of-age story, beautifully told. Bower's gift to her readers is a poetic freeze-frame on every page, offering both poignancy and insight. Her collection begins in a world of difference, ultimately finding serenity in an abundance of acceptance and love. New England landscapes and seascapes are never far away, inspiring and contextualizing this wayfarer's honest journey to The Edge of Everything.
-Caroline Donnan
Have you ever thought that you "carried brokenness?" Have you ever wanted to find a bridge between that brokenness and a land of repair? Then give Jo Bower's poetry in The Edge of Everything a read. You will find the "logic of repair" and a friend whose "compass" is true. Bower understood early that she was different. But her inquisitive nature gave rise to a study of desire, desolation, confusion and contradiction - a unique lens on observing and doing. Her winding path through contradiction and contentment emerges, holding nuggets of pleasure and insight. Bower's inquiries into the meaning of life, with all its unexpected passions make this book a surprising and satisfying companion. Your own stories will surely resonate with this invitation to "the edge of everything."
-(sb) sōwbel, co-founder of D'esperanto Publications, Tiamat Gallery, and Ponder Hoot Poets Lecture Series
