Praise for Dr. David B. Axelrod  

“Axelrod is a treat.” The New York Times    

“A Best Bet.” Newsday  

“A Summer Best Pick.” Small Press Review   

“One of the finest and most original American poets now writing.”   X. J. Kennedy              

“Whether Axelrod is reliving a moment of pleasure, or a time of bitterness and pain, the truth of his poetry is like life itself—compelling.”  Louis Simpson 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR        

  Dr. David B. Axelrod, served as Suffolk County Poet Laureate from 2007 to 2009.  He is also founder and president of the not-for-profit, educational organization, Writers Unlimited Agency, Inc. (www.writersunlimited.org), publisher of Writers Ink Press, and president of 3WS, World Wide Writers Services, available on the web at: www.poetrydoctor.org. In those capacities, he has sponsored hundreds of writers, performances, conferences and assisted in founding numerous arts and writing groups.

            Dr. Axelrod is a three-time Fulbright Scholar and was the first official Fulbright Poet-in-Residence in China . He holds a bachelor’s from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst , a master’s from The Writing Seminars at The Johns Hopkins University, a master of fine arts degree from The University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop and a doctorate from Union Institute & University. Poems from his nineteen books have been translated into fourteen languages, and he has performed internationally including at the United Nations and for the American Library Association. 

PREFACE TO THE BOOK

             Poetry has been my faithful companion for more than fifty years. It is there for me wherever I travel, at home, and at all times of day. Most people aren’t so lucky to have that kind of  steadfast relationship. So, you can be sure I want to treat poetry well. I take it seriously.

            When I make a selection for a new book, I try to group the poems so they have a unified theme, or at least a consistent tone. A famous poet once helped me make a selection for one of my books and, when he excluded several poems, he said, “You don’t want them to think of you that way.”

            Later, I brought out another book that included those and many more poems that saw the world “that way.” It was The Impossibility of Dreams, and I’ve been told it was my strongest work. This book has a similar tone—somewhat unlike much of my other poems and books.

            I’ve put a little more “philosophy” into these pages, a little more of a cutting edge. Life isn’t all Goody Two-Shoes and fun. When people ask me how I am, lately, I say, “Fine, if I ignore the state of the world.” Yet, I continue to write poetry—for me, an act of faith, an attempt to heal both myself and the world.

            I wish you peace and poetry.  David B. Axelrod, Long Island , 2008