A Prelude to Longing
"It might be better to lie to you, tell you that these
poems came from some romantic impulse cultivated in Paris,
perhaps sitting at the Cafι de Flore on the Boulevard St. Germain, possibly
with an espresso and croissant; or better yet, I should claim some Troubadour
inheritance, citing unrequited love as my muse, and the impetus for my
writings. But neither is true: Ive never lived in Paris;
and I have loved quiet well, if not often.
Though slow to develop, this body of work
continues to emerge unexpectedly from my continued search for a deeper, more
direct, participation in the world. It was never my intention to write with
such a strong sense of sensuality, or even to venture to the edge eroticism;
these flavors emerged from my growing awareness and receptivity to the
world as lover.
Some may find that sentiment pretentious,
leaning more toward the pseudo-spiritual then the poetic. And though the term
has been pushed toward the trivial, it is still the best way to describe a
life lived intimately. From pre-history to the present, the human path is
exceedingly vast; and yet, the greatest sages humanity has expressed all speak
of living intimately with this world. And, what is living intimately, if
not the very act of being a lover."
Anthony Guilbert
www.studiodeguilbert.com
Advanced Praise:
"Anthony Guilbert has fulfilled a longing many of us have and we owe him
our thanks. A gifted teacher of Asian arts, he has focused his considerable
energy in poems that make all our emotions clearer and more meaningful."
--David B. Axelrod, Suffolk, Long
Island, Poet Laureate
"Anthony Guilbert's "longing" is almost every cultured
American's longing for old-time euro-elegance and French-film love, for a lost
era when hazy blue jazz and cigarettes made expatriate poets swoon and each
imagined "I am the next Rimbaud, the next Piaf!" Guilbert's work
combines luscious sensual intoxication with a vivacious melancholy. He makes
me believe I can remember when I was in Paris
and in love--and I've never been there at all!"
--Wayne Gilbert, aka the performance poet Magmapoet
This Longing is a rare travelogue of how flesh and beauty collide, and how
one poet can turn yearning into images so explosive, you will feel
transplanted into each fervent gaze. Anthony Guilbert stretches his longing
into a series of vignettes, which will remind you of that first time love
implanted itself beneath your skin, and why we are so hesitant to let go of
that persistence of desire."
--Aimee Herman, erotic writer, author of Taste Like Cheese Cake
"Maybe the most sensuous poetry I have read. Sensuous, able to titillate
and trigger waves of inner energy . . . amazing! . . . Artful AND palpably
arousing. A bona fide contribution to literature"
Roger Jahnke, OMD, author of The Healer Within
