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The Search
The Search by Carol Lynn Pearson Illustrated by Trevor Southey
Hardcover
First published January 1, 1975
29 people want to read
About the author
Carol Lynn Pearson
91 books122 followersFrom http://www.clpearson.com/about_me.htm
In fourth grade, in Gusher, Utah, I won four dollars in a school district essay contest on “Why We Should Eat a Better Breakfast.” And yes, this morning I had a bowl of my own excellent granola, followed by a hike in the hills near my home in Walnut Creek, California.
In high school I began writing in earnest. I have now in my files a folder marked “Poetry, Very Bad,” and another, “Poetry, Not Quite So Bad.” Writing served a good purpose for that very dramatic, insecure adolescent. Also at that time I began to keep a diary, which I still maintain and which has been indescribably useful to me both as a writer and as a pilgrim on the earth.
After graduating from Brigham Young University with an MA in theatre, teaching for a year in Utah at Snow College, and traveling for a year, I taught part-time at BYU in the English department and was then hired by the motion picture studio on campus to write educational and religious screenplays.
While performing at the university as Mrs. Antrobus in Thornton Wilder’s “The Skin of Our Teeth,” I met and fell in love with Gerald Pearson, a shining, blond, enthusiastic young man, who fell in love with me and my poems.
“We’ve got to get them published,” he said on our honeymoon, and soon dragged me up to the big city, Salt Lake City, to see who would be first in line to publish them. “Poetry doesn’t sell,” insisted everyone we spoke to, and I, somewhat relieved, put publishing on the list of things to do posthumously.
But not Gerald. “Then I’ll publish them,” he said. Borrowing two thousand dollars, he created a company called “Trilogy Arts” and published two thousand copies of a book called Beginnings, a slim, hard-back volume with a white cover that featured a stunning illustration, “God in Embryo,” by our good friend Trevor Southey, now an internationally known artist. On the day in autumn of 1967 that Gerald delivered the books by truck to our little apartment in Provo, I was terrified. I really had wanted to do this posthumously.
Beginnings
Today
You came running
With a small specked egg
Warm in your hand.
You could barely understand,
I know,
As I told you of Beginnings–
Of egg and bird.
Told, too,
That years ago you began,
Smaller than sight.
And then,
As egg yearns for sky
And seed stretches to tree,
You became–
Like me.
Oh,
But there’s so much more.
You and I, child,
Have just begun.
Think:
Worlds from now
What might we be?–
We, who are seed
Of Deity.
We toted a package of books up to the BYU bookstore, and asked to see the book buyer. “Well,” she said, “nobody ever buys poetry, but since you’re a local person, let me take four on consignment.” As they came in packages of twenty, we persuaded her to take twenty--on consignment. Next day she called and asked, “Those books you brought up here. Do you have any more of them?”
I had anticipated that the two thousand books, now stacked in our little closet and under our bed and in my Daddy’s garage, would last us years and years as wedding presents. But immediately we ordered a second printing. Beginnings sold over 150,000 copies before we gave it to Doubleday and then to Bookcraft.
Beginnings was followed by other volumes of poetry: The Search, The Growing Season, A Widening View, I Can’t Stop Smiling, and Women I Have Known and Been. Most of the poems from the earlier books now appear in a compilation, Beginnings and Beyond. The poems have been widely reprinted in such places as Ann Landers’ column, the second volume of Chicken Soup for the Soul, and college textbooks such as Houghton Mifflin’s Structure and Meaning: an Introduction to Literature. That first little volume of verse, and my husband’s determination, laid the foundation for my entire career.
Another characteristic of my husband was to have a profound effect on both
In fourth grade, in Gusher, Utah, I won four dollars in a school district essay contest on “Why We Should Eat a Better Breakfast.” And yes, this morning I had a bowl of my own excellent granola, followed by a hike in the hills near my home in Walnut Creek, California.
In high school I began writing in earnest. I have now in my files a folder marked “Poetry, Very Bad,” and another, “Poetry, Not Quite So Bad.” Writing served a good purpose for that very dramatic, insecure adolescent. Also at that time I began to keep a diary, which I still maintain and which has been indescribably useful to me both as a writer and as a pilgrim on the earth.
After graduating from Brigham Young University with an MA in theatre, teaching for a year in Utah at Snow College, and traveling for a year, I taught part-time at BYU in the English department and was then hired by the motion picture studio on campus to write educational and religious screenplays.
While performing at the university as Mrs. Antrobus in Thornton Wilder’s “The Skin of Our Teeth,” I met and fell in love with Gerald Pearson, a shining, blond, enthusiastic young man, who fell in love with me and my poems.
“We’ve got to get them published,” he said on our honeymoon, and soon dragged me up to the big city, Salt Lake City, to see who would be first in line to publish them. “Poetry doesn’t sell,” insisted everyone we spoke to, and I, somewhat relieved, put publishing on the list of things to do posthumously.
But not Gerald. “Then I’ll publish them,” he said. Borrowing two thousand dollars, he created a company called “Trilogy Arts” and published two thousand copies of a book called Beginnings, a slim, hard-back volume with a white cover that featured a stunning illustration, “God in Embryo,” by our good friend Trevor Southey, now an internationally known artist. On the day in autumn of 1967 that Gerald delivered the books by truck to our little apartment in Provo, I was terrified. I really had wanted to do this posthumously.
Beginnings
Today
You came running
With a small specked egg
Warm in your hand.
You could barely understand,
I know,
As I told you of Beginnings–
Of egg and bird.
Told, too,
That years ago you began,
Smaller than sight.
And then,
As egg yearns for sky
And seed stretches to tree,
You became–
Like me.
Oh,
But there’s so much more.
You and I, child,
Have just begun.
Think:
Worlds from now
What might we be?–
We, who are seed
Of Deity.
We toted a package of books up to the BYU bookstore, and asked to see the book buyer. “Well,” she said, “nobody ever buys poetry, but since you’re a local person, let me take four on consignment.” As they came in packages of twenty, we persuaded her to take twenty--on consignment. Next day she called and asked, “Those books you brought up here. Do you have any more of them?”
I had anticipated that the two thousand books, now stacked in our little closet and under our bed and in my Daddy’s garage, would last us years and years as wedding presents. But immediately we ordered a second printing. Beginnings sold over 150,000 copies before we gave it to Doubleday and then to Bookcraft.
Beginnings was followed by other volumes of poetry: The Search, The Growing Season, A Widening View, I Can’t Stop Smiling, and Women I Have Known and Been. Most of the poems from the earlier books now appear in a compilation, Beginnings and Beyond. The poems have been widely reprinted in such places as Ann Landers’ column, the second volume of Chicken Soup for the Soul, and college textbooks such as Houghton Mifflin’s Structure and Meaning: an Introduction to Literature. That first little volume of verse, and my husband’s determination, laid the foundation for my entire career.
Another characteristic of my husband was to have a profound effect on both
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
September 11, 2021
"Slight Deception" by Carol Lynn Pearson
An adjustable lens is best
For seeing sin:
To soften the view when looking out,
To sharpen it when looking in.
The third collection I've read from Mrs. Pearson and I love them all so much. Many poems on motherhood, and though I'm not a mother, I still really appreciate them. Her poems on faith and religion are my particular favorites.
An adjustable lens is best
For seeing sin:
To soften the view when looking out,
To sharpen it when looking in.
The third collection I've read from Mrs. Pearson and I love them all so much. Many poems on motherhood, and though I'm not a mother, I still really appreciate them. Her poems on faith and religion are my particular favorites.
December 26, 2020
The poetry itself is fairly good, though I think Pearson's prose is stronger. What I really loved about the book is Trevor Southey's gorgeous illustrations that accompany the poems. Worth it for the pictures alone.
November 30, 2022
More beautiful poems from Pearson. I especially love the poems about motherhood.
September 22, 2009
I found this at a yard sale down the street and was so excited!! This is the same woman who wrote, "Goodbye, I Love You". I knew she wrote poems, but they were all published eternities ago (like in the 70's!) long before I was alive so I've never seen them.
The poems are great. Especially the ones about motherhood, as I have a new baby, plus a large baby who runs around and takes his shoes, socks and pants off in public. Kids are great.
If you are not a poetry person and would like a good introduction to it(especially if you're an LDS woman), I highly recommend this. And if you already love poetry, this is super easy to love. I read it twice, I just loved it that much.
Carol Lynn Pearson is a genuis, in my opinion. I elevate her to that status and recommend her highly.
The poems are great. Especially the ones about motherhood, as I have a new baby, plus a large baby who runs around and takes his shoes, socks and pants off in public. Kids are great.
If you are not a poetry person and would like a good introduction to it(especially if you're an LDS woman), I highly recommend this. And if you already love poetry, this is super easy to love. I read it twice, I just loved it that much.
Carol Lynn Pearson is a genuis, in my opinion. I elevate her to that status and recommend her highly.
September 28, 2010
Why can't I understand the Psalms from the Old Testament the way I can understand this? These poems resonate in my soul. I pulled a 3 out of thin air. I've probably read this slim volume of poetry many more times. One of my favorite poems from this book & something I have used as a mantra in my life is "To One Who Has Been Done Dirt."
December 27, 2011
We all write poetry in our mind (don't you?) as we work in the garden, or notice the sudden growth of a child, or the languishing age of a parent. Carol Lynn Pearson does it with success. Her verses are simple and succinct, yet convey complex emotions. This collection touched my heart.
November 13, 2009
This is a nice collection of poems. I especially liked New Child, Mother to Child, and The Weaning. This book is filled with uplifting poems. Some of them have a comic twist that makes you smile. If you enjoy poetry you will like this collection.
October 21, 2016
One of my favorite poetry books ever written. The Inheritance might be my favorite piece of poetry ever.
November 21, 2013
Grandma and I shared a love for her poems, we read and discussed her first three books of poetry. Grandma passed away in 1978. So glad we shared these poems together.
July 14, 2021
Simply delightful.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews