Lost & Found

by Violet Yates

Review of Lost & Found by Paul McGovern, of Subtle Entropy, a

I love the concept of dualism, the two sidedness of everything that exists. It is one of the fundamental principles on which the world in that we live is based on. The rise & fall, the ups and downs, the good and the bad. As far as I’m concerned nothing is one thing or another, rather everything is in a state of perpetual flux. Lost and Found then is poetic dualism, a contradiction that explores the darker side of humanity and the subsequent flip side.
The author, Violet Yates, wrote the collection over a number of years, quite often at low points in her life. The poems conjure up images of isolation, desperation and despair. It often makes for bleak reading but there is an uncompromising truth at the core of every line and I for one felt moved and touched by what I read. I have gone through my own fair share of emotional turmoil and reading these poems I empathized with the harsh realities some of us have to face.
Each of the poems is accompanied by a yearly date entry identifying when it was written. This serves to reinforce the progression of the author over time. The book certainly encompasses her personal journey and one can identify abstract grief transforming into a perspective of hope. It makes for very good reading instilling hope in the reader while illustrating the personal depths that Violet experienced. There are many stand out moments, Pain from 2004 is just
This pain…
Too excruciating.
This pain…
I told
Never let yourself feel again.
So why did I?
Wanted to feel the love without the pain…
Torture,
Exquisite though it may be.
Still too awful to be perceived by anyone but me.
Reality.
It’s personal, beautiful and eloquent if such things can be described as such.”Thinking of you as I lie alone in this room. Trying to blot out all feelings of doom.” High Hopes, suggests that the writing process perhaps offered some degree of catharsis or outlet for pain and in turn offers some hope to the reader that similar solace may be found in their own lives. Reading the collection I can’t help but feel reminded of Sylvia Plath. I don’t like comparing any writer with another because each has their own unique style and approach but I think it’s fair to say that comparisons can be made. I could award no higher accolade; Plath’s poetry remains the benchmark for me in many respects.
Lost and Found is the most engaging collection of poetry I have read since discovering the art form at school, it appeals to me on so many levels, not least in its exploration of the human condition when faced with adversity. Violet may have gone through a lot to stimulate the creation of these poems but what she has produced is something beautiful to be proud of. Redemption in conflict, dualism.

Nook

First published May 17, 2011

About the author

A love of the English language was fostered in Violet Yates at a young age. Since the time she could first read, books were an escape to a world full of fantasy and imagination, where horses became unicorns and wings, where tornadoes picked up houses and little girls and they somehow landed in an emerald city. Having grown up in Hawaii, there was quite a bit of Hawaiian legend to be told to little Violet, as well as Chinese and Japanese folktales of girls and boys being born from peaches and growing from trees. She wrote her first story at age 8 and sent it into Highlights magazine, who sadly rejected it. But that did not stop her. Throughout Violet’s life, she worked at perfecting her writing, striving to achieve straight A’s in school.


While in Upstate New York in her 30’s, Violet’s love of words led her to seek a Bachelor’s degree in English at SUNY Albany in 2002, having already earned credits at West Hawaii Community College in the mid 90’s. During her years at the university, she wrote a novel, a novella and several short stories. She went on to obtain a Master’s degree in Higher Education Administration. She did this while her marriage broke apart and was a single mom, having been determined to give her children a different life.


Violet loves to read, write, watch movies, listen to music and dream. She considers the Bible to be the best book ever written.
Violet has three children,a 24 year old son who is strong and wise, a 23 year old son who is handsome and makes her so proud, and a beautiful 14 year old daughter who takes after her mother a great deal.
Currently Violet lives in on the Kona Coast in Hawaii.

Violet has published a novella: Leaves of the Fall
Lost & Found (Poetry), Falling into the Lord’s Hands (Autobiography), Forgotten Forest of the Innocent (Short) & Learning to Drive (Short). All available at this link: http://www.amazon.com/Violet-Yates/e/...

Her interests are: Writing, reading, swimming, walking, going to the movies, researching history, true crime, blogging, watching favorite television shows (The Supernatural, The Vampire Diaries, Vikings, Reign, The 100, The Middle, The Originals), crocheting, sewing, embroidery, crafts, candle-making, soap-making, intrigue, reading the news, talking to and spending time with family and friends, taking photographs, daydreaming, researching about things such as antebellum architecture, Gothic art, medieval and renaissance farming, 1930's depression era.

Her short story, Forgotten Forest of the Innocent, won an award of first prize in a short story writing contest on Writer’s Village in 2002. She also won an award at Konawaena High School during her ninth grade year for an essay about overcoming adversity.

Her favorite books are many and it is hard for her to select just a few to name, but these are some: Aside from the bible, she loves literature such as Paul Auster, Lady Chatterley’s Lover, Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Scarlet Letter & House of Seven Gables, Edgar Allan Poe, Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, The Lion, Witch & Wardrobe; she enjoys some detective novels, mysteries, fantasy. She loved C.S. Lewis’ Space Trilogy and said if you haven’t read it yet, you’ve got to check it out. A lot of work that had been a big influence to her was the medieval writing and short stories she studied as an English major at SUNY Albany and even at West Hawaii Community College.

Teachers and professors who she attributes as having fascinated her and brought this thrill for knowledge alive were: her 7th grade English teacher, Ms. Goeas at Konawaena, Professor Morgan, WHCC, Professor Kate Winter, who was a guest speaker at her English class at WHCC from Suny Albany, Professor Berger at SUNY Albany, English History, Professor Helene Scheck, Medieval and Renaissance English Lit teacher, Professor Kate Winter, English, Creative Writing. Professor Lana Cable, Renaissance Lit.

Violet's cur