A Close Circle of Strangers: Poems for a Lonely Planet

by Jennifer Merri Parker, G.L. Morrison (Foreword)

A CLOSE CIRCLE OF STRANGERS is a heartwarming and thought-provoking collection of original "Poems for a Lonely Planet" from Jennifer Merri Parker, an award winning, Mississippi-raised, globe-trotting writer. Parker, who has noted in recently penned prose that her American wanderings and expatriate life abroad have culminated in a compulsion to pen a statement of global citizenship, a sort of "letter to the world," has finally, happily, put that missive in concrete form. In this lyrical anthology, she speaks through a diverse collection of characters, offering various takes on human interactions. These works explore the vagaries of relationships and rifts, connection, disconnection and missed connection--all through words crafted with elegant tenderness, humor and insight. Parker, a Harvard graduate, former journalist, librarian and globe-trotting teacher/scholar, combines her own restless heart (with its constant quest for novel and renewed acquaintance) along with a playful wit, an ageless sense of wonder, and a masterful ability to meld rational meaning and emotion. Thus, out of her own experiences, the recollection of others' stories, and the imagination of empathy, Parker has created this "close circle of strangers." These contemporary lyric poems comprise nothing less than a compassionate compendium of narrative confessions in verse, giving voice to powerfully resonant and unforgettable expressions of love, loss and longing for human connection.

110 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 5, 2017