Instead of Sadness

by Catherine Abbey Hodges

Instead of Sadness, poems by Catherine Abbey Hodges, is the winner of the inaugural Barry Spacks Poetry Prize. The Spacks Prize honors poet and teacher Barry Spacks, Santa Barbara's first Poet Laureate, who valued poems with clarity of image, precision of language, and emotional resonnance.

Genres: Poetry

78 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2015

Reviews

[Isaac Ellis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am not one who normally reads poetry, but this is a book I want to read over and over again. Each reading conjures up new images, sounds, emotions, and memories - all of which are somehow just right. It shall forever remain on my shelf, ready to be picked up and enjoyed again.

[Diana Raab · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is the winner of the inaugural Barry Spacks Poetry Prize, and as someone who knew and admired Spacks, I feel that the book really deserves this wonderful honor. Instead of Sadness is a collection of short, precise poems that inspire readers to either stop and ponder a particular poem, or read it once more for additional nuance. Some of Hodges's images will inspire you to paint a picture within your mind relating to what is happening in the poem.

The subjects of the poems are diverse-encompassing nature, death, dreams, childhood, and more. Many of them deal with feelings or images that we might have felt in the past but were unable to articulate. For example, one of my favorites poems is "Safe." It starts like this: I am six / I don't like coffee, / but the smell of it drifting/ up the stairs / along with breakfast-making clatter / means I'm safe./

How many children have felt this way, and how many adults recall this feeling many years later? Not many, but Hodges imparts these emotions brilliantly. Many thanks to her for sharing her poems with the universe and may Catherine's month be filled with beautiful poetry.