White Vases

by John Swain

White Vases (CC#26) is a 21-page poetry chapbook featuring 18 works by John Swain of Louisville, Kentucky. Saddle stitched using high quality white and blue cardstock. Released June 1st 2012, White Vases is now available for $5 (plus $1.50 postage) from Crisis Chronicles Press, 3344 W. 105th Street #4, Cleveland, Ohio 44111.

Genres: Poetry

21 pages, Chapbook

First published June 1, 2012

About the author

John Swain lives in Louisville, Kentucky. His chapbooks include: Prominences and Sinking of the Cloth (Flutter Press); Set Apart Before the World Was Made (Calliope Nerve Media); The Feathered Masks and Burnt Palmistry (Full of Crow); Handing the Cask (erbacce press); Fragments of Calendars (Thunderclap Press); and White Vases (Crisis Chronicles Press). His work has received nominations for the Pushcart Prize, Best of the Net, and Best of the Web.

Reviews

[Mik · Rating 4 out of 5]

White Vases is a collection of eighteen poems, concisely– though not densely– collected in a pleasant and quiet chapbook. These are poems that demand to be heard not by shouting or raising great questions or challenging a paradigm, but by speaking softly, so that one must turn off Pandora and set down their iPhone to listen.

The obvious assessment of White Vases is that it is lyrical and mostly concerning nature, rife with tranquil imagery. There is no cloying with form, no appearance of dependance on structure or scheme. But perhaps some of the poems must be read aloud to be appreciated– Say the phrase “I whittle hidden symbols” our loud (“The Shutters,” p. 30). Say it twice. Your lips will enjoy it.

Want more? Try this one from “After the Path”: “Endless in suns after the path,/ you shaded your face in linen/ like I died to become another.”

Wow. I hope you’re actually reading these aloud, because that is the strength of these poems: On the page, they are unassuming. You might not guess how beautiful they sound. They are humble, never showy.

If you want a poem that packs a punch in your crowded life, this is probably not the chapbook for you. If you want poetry that demands reverence and quiet and a moment of your solitude, I would recommend White Vases to add to your collection.

[Christina M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Laid at the feet of poetic imagery and myth this small book of eighteen poems is deceptively simple but stunning.
There is a reverence for life reflected here, each poem shimmering with its own delicately woven merits. Beautifully written.

I think this is John Swain's 6th chapbook and it is a very fine offering indeed. One not to be missed.

I'm eager now to find and read some of his previous offerings.

This I believe is # 26 in the chapbooks available thru Crisis Chronicles Press, Cleveland.

So I offer here my modest remarks and highly recommended it.