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Past the Glad and Sunlit Season
K. A. Opperman conjures up a pageant of autumnal imagery sure to delight all fans of the Halloween season. Often recalling the charming rhymes on vintage postcards, these poems take us on a stirring journey deep into October’s heart, offering treats—and a few tricks—to those brave enough to follow the jack-o’-lantern’s orange grin into the night. Put on your costume, grab your pumpkin-shaped treat-bucket, and come discover what treasures are to be found past the glad and sunlit season, where both the dying year—and youth itself—confront what it means to face the darkness at summer’s end.
The poetry in this delightful volume is accompanied by 15 full-page illustrations by noted weird artist Dan Sauer, whose images celebrate the macabre nostalgia evoked by the the poems of Mr. Opperman and by All Hallows' Eve itself.
“...[K. A. Opperman] is the gifted descendent of poets ranging from Poe to Walter Scott to Robert Burns, all of whom understood that Halloween’s deliciously dark mood may be best served by poetry.”—From the Preface by Lisa Morton, author of Trick or Treat: A History of Halloween
“K. A. Opperman’s poems evoke both the dark chill of late October and the warmth of a cottage fireside. He captures a time outside of time, an otherworld populated by Pumpkin Kings and haunted souls who wander the edges of our consciousness begging to come inside. The book is a heartfelt incantation to mysteries of Halloween.” —Lesley Pratt Bannatyne, author of Halloween: An American Holiday, an American History
"These visions of All Hallows’ Eve are sure to enchant and whisk the reader away to a world of crisp autumn leaves, brimming with magic. The poems within this collection are steeped in folklore and perfectly reflect the ambiance of Halloween. This book will become your treasured new Halloween tradition.”—Mickie Mueller, author of Llewellyn’s Little Book of Halloween
“Past the Glad and Sunlit Season is a cornucopia of autumnal delights. At turns whimsical and sombre, K. A. Opperman’s Halloween poems serve as fine evocations of that season of mist, fire, and scythe.” —Richard Gavin, author of Sylvan Dread: Tales of Pastoral Darkness
“Follow the flickering orange light into the darkness beyond Summer’s End, and pay court to the Pumpkin King. . . . K. A. Opperman’s passion for Halloween burns as brightly as Jack’s fabled lantern. That, combined with his uncanny metrical precision, is a potent recipe for verse-magick that is as haunting as it is darkly delightful.” —Adam Bolivar, author of The Lay of Old Hex
“K.A. Opperman has gifted us a varied gathering of lovely, intelligent poems that swell from a passion for the magical black and orange season. Beautiful and evocative, the works are rich in imagery and mood, composed of intriguing rhyme schemes and word choices. Reading this collection made me think of the noble poetry of old, and the subject could not appeal to me more. Past the Glad and Sunlit Season is a treasure from a superb wordsmith whose love for the great season burns brighter than a thousand jack-o’-lanterns. I hereby dub Mr. Opperman the poet laureate of Halloween.”—Scott Thomas, author of The Sea of Ash
“All hail the Pumpkin King, aka K. A. Opperman! Those of us who love Halloween in all its guises will be delighted by this collection of seasonal poetry.”—Denise Dumars, author of The Dark Archetype: Exploring the Shadow Side of the Divine
The poetry in this delightful volume is accompanied by 15 full-page illustrations by noted weird artist Dan Sauer, whose images celebrate the macabre nostalgia evoked by the the poems of Mr. Opperman and by All Hallows' Eve itself.
“...[K. A. Opperman] is the gifted descendent of poets ranging from Poe to Walter Scott to Robert Burns, all of whom understood that Halloween’s deliciously dark mood may be best served by poetry.”—From the Preface by Lisa Morton, author of Trick or Treat: A History of Halloween
“K. A. Opperman’s poems evoke both the dark chill of late October and the warmth of a cottage fireside. He captures a time outside of time, an otherworld populated by Pumpkin Kings and haunted souls who wander the edges of our consciousness begging to come inside. The book is a heartfelt incantation to mysteries of Halloween.” —Lesley Pratt Bannatyne, author of Halloween: An American Holiday, an American History
"These visions of All Hallows’ Eve are sure to enchant and whisk the reader away to a world of crisp autumn leaves, brimming with magic. The poems within this collection are steeped in folklore and perfectly reflect the ambiance of Halloween. This book will become your treasured new Halloween tradition.”—Mickie Mueller, author of Llewellyn’s Little Book of Halloween
“Past the Glad and Sunlit Season is a cornucopia of autumnal delights. At turns whimsical and sombre, K. A. Opperman’s Halloween poems serve as fine evocations of that season of mist, fire, and scythe.” —Richard Gavin, author of Sylvan Dread: Tales of Pastoral Darkness
“Follow the flickering orange light into the darkness beyond Summer’s End, and pay court to the Pumpkin King. . . . K. A. Opperman’s passion for Halloween burns as brightly as Jack’s fabled lantern. That, combined with his uncanny metrical precision, is a potent recipe for verse-magick that is as haunting as it is darkly delightful.” —Adam Bolivar, author of The Lay of Old Hex
“K.A. Opperman has gifted us a varied gathering of lovely, intelligent poems that swell from a passion for the magical black and orange season. Beautiful and evocative, the works are rich in imagery and mood, composed of intriguing rhyme schemes and word choices. Reading this collection made me think of the noble poetry of old, and the subject could not appeal to me more. Past the Glad and Sunlit Season is a treasure from a superb wordsmith whose love for the great season burns brighter than a thousand jack-o’-lanterns. I hereby dub Mr. Opperman the poet laureate of Halloween.”—Scott Thomas, author of The Sea of Ash
“All hail the Pumpkin King, aka K. A. Opperman! Those of us who love Halloween in all its guises will be delighted by this collection of seasonal poetry.”—Denise Dumars, author of The Dark Archetype: Exploring the Shadow Side of the Divine
130 pages, Paperback
Published September 29, 2020
2 people are currently reading
158 people want to read
About the author
K.A. Opperman
67 books30 followersPrimarily known for my "Poems for Halloween" series, I am an American poet residing in Southern California.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
January 11, 2021
The book is lovely, and its presentation is equally charming with a cover that harkens back to a vintage Halloween iconography, curtesy of illustrator/graphic designer Dan Sauer, who also does the amazing illustrations featured within the book. Mr. Opperman is a Halloween enthusiast and his love for, and knowledge of all things Halloween are reflected in this book. His poems are filled with the lore and legendary of the holiday referencing everything from its Celtic origins and the customary tropes of ghosts, witches, black cats, jack-o’-lanterns and trick-or-treating, to the more sinister forces that roam the night roads when the veil is thinnest betwixt the realms of the living and the dead. Destined to become a seasonal classic.
October 23, 2023
I really enjoyed this collection of Halloween poems. My only complaint, and it's a very small one, is that I prefer a bit of variation to the poetry I read - some rhyme scheme, some free verse, some of a bit of in between - as opposed to the strictly rhyming type that can be found here. The verses are all great and definitely give that "vintage Halloween" vibe. Overall very wonderful.
October 19, 2021
Past the Glad and Sunlit Season: Poems for Halloween by K. A. Opperman is a Halloween-centered poetry collection.
I appreciated that the poems are fairly accessible. One issue I sometimes have with poetry is that there can be so many metaphors and abstractions that I have difficulty figuring out what the author is trying to convey. This is not the case here. Opperman’s poems are pretty literal, evoking familiar Halloween scenes and conveying Halloween legends through detailed imagery. I prefer poems when I can understand them without having to Google to figure out what the author meant, and Opperman certainly delivers on that front.
There is a wide variety of Halloween-related subject matter covered in this collection. My favorites were the more horror-esque poems, such as “The Crows Alone Have Seen” and “The Carver.” For me, Halloween is a secular thing, so the heavy emphasis on Samhain and “The Veil” wasn’t what I was looking for, but that’s a personal preference. There are also poems on things like pumpkin carving, the changing of the seasons, Halloween legends, etc. There is something in this collection for every Halloween lover, although not every poem will be for everyone.
If you’re looking for a poetry collection to give you autumnal and Halloween vibes, then you may want to check out Past the Glad and Sunlit Season: Poems for Halloween.
I appreciated that the poems are fairly accessible. One issue I sometimes have with poetry is that there can be so many metaphors and abstractions that I have difficulty figuring out what the author is trying to convey. This is not the case here. Opperman’s poems are pretty literal, evoking familiar Halloween scenes and conveying Halloween legends through detailed imagery. I prefer poems when I can understand them without having to Google to figure out what the author meant, and Opperman certainly delivers on that front.
There is a wide variety of Halloween-related subject matter covered in this collection. My favorites were the more horror-esque poems, such as “The Crows Alone Have Seen” and “The Carver.” For me, Halloween is a secular thing, so the heavy emphasis on Samhain and “The Veil” wasn’t what I was looking for, but that’s a personal preference. There are also poems on things like pumpkin carving, the changing of the seasons, Halloween legends, etc. There is something in this collection for every Halloween lover, although not every poem will be for everyone.
If you’re looking for a poetry collection to give you autumnal and Halloween vibes, then you may want to check out Past the Glad and Sunlit Season: Poems for Halloween.
August 1, 2023
I'm a fan of Halloween, but not as big of a fan as K. A. Opperman. I'm not sure there is a bigger fan of All Hallows Eve than Opperman. His introduction to this collection of his Halloween themed poems illustrates it. I enjoyed the brief story of his Halloween journey. It's quite different from mine, and far more passionate in his love for the holiday.
The cover is the first thing you notice. It's striking, and the interior is fully illustrated. As for the poems? There are 54 of them. Most are short. All are rhyming. They are charming enough to be read to children for the season but have enough ghoulish imagery to tantalize the adult. I read some to my wife, who is also a Celtiphile, and she found them delightful. A very nice touch was a section at the end about the poems, wherein Opperman discusses the origins and some of the meanings of the pieces.
There's a touch here and there that remind me of Ray Bradbury's work, who was also a lover of Halloween. The title, particularly, put me in mind of Ray: Past the Glad and Sunlit Season. There's a second volume in this series called October Ghosts and Autumn Dreams. It's up next on my reading list. I'm looking forward to it after finishing this excellent collection.
The cover is the first thing you notice. It's striking, and the interior is fully illustrated. As for the poems? There are 54 of them. Most are short. All are rhyming. They are charming enough to be read to children for the season but have enough ghoulish imagery to tantalize the adult. I read some to my wife, who is also a Celtiphile, and she found them delightful. A very nice touch was a section at the end about the poems, wherein Opperman discusses the origins and some of the meanings of the pieces.
There's a touch here and there that remind me of Ray Bradbury's work, who was also a lover of Halloween. The title, particularly, put me in mind of Ray: Past the Glad and Sunlit Season. There's a second volume in this series called October Ghosts and Autumn Dreams. It's up next on my reading list. I'm looking forward to it after finishing this excellent collection.
May 15, 2025
Cracking open this collection of poems with all the virtuosity of a pagan sexton unearthing a coffin, I fell in love with the Autumnal ambiance permeating off every page. The poetic prose is enchanting and K.A. Opperman is a modern day druid of the word wizardry found in this spellbinding grimoire dedicated to the spirit of Halloween. I was hoping to read this in October but couldn't resist and now I look forward to rereading it in full once the Fall settles in. My favorite additions: "Harvest Moon", "Jack-O'-Lantern Moon", "October", "The Carver" (which is my absolute #1 favorite), "Lord Of Samhain", "The Ballad Of Lantern Jack", "The Samhanach Is Coming", "The Headless Horseman", "The Four Trick-Or-Treaters", "Halloween Greetings", "Jack-O'-Lantern Chant", "Jack-O'-Lantern", and "Old Halloween". Every poem collected here is spectacular to some degree, yet those aforementioned titles are just awe-inspiring. Bravo! 👏🏻🎃
October 17, 2022
I go back and forth on the whole genre/tradition of “poetry”, and I’m still not entirely sure how I feel about it in general.
But poetry about love and about Halloween? I’ll always be a mark for that. This is a cool little collection, one that I won’t mind returning to every year. I do wish, however, that the weird little digital art inside was replaced with simpler, vintage Beistle-style illustrations like those on the cover. It would fully complete the package.
No matter how I feel about it as an art-form, I am aware that poetry is written to be read aloud, and this book would make for perfect bedside reading to kids for the months of September and October.
But poetry about love and about Halloween? I’ll always be a mark for that. This is a cool little collection, one that I won’t mind returning to every year. I do wish, however, that the weird little digital art inside was replaced with simpler, vintage Beistle-style illustrations like those on the cover. It would fully complete the package.
No matter how I feel about it as an art-form, I am aware that poetry is written to be read aloud, and this book would make for perfect bedside reading to kids for the months of September and October.
October 20, 2022
Halloween is my birthday, so obviously it's my favorite holiday (my favorite day of the year, actually), therefore I was bound to love this book, which is a collection of excellently written poems, all focusing on Halloween and the Halloween season. Almost as good as the poetry itself is the author's introductory essay, in which he describes his own history with Halloween and his love of the season, something I could relate to completely. There's also a nice introduction by author Lisa Morton and magnificent illustrations by Dan Sauer, which give the book its darkly magical look. If you love Halloween, you can't go wrong with this book! Highly recommended!
October 7, 2024
I deeply enjoyed this collection of Halloween-themed poetry. Rhythmic rhymes conjure up the images of grinning jack-o-lanterns, autumnal trees, vengeful witches, and spooky wraiths. The eerie illustrations add even more to the overall vibes.
Definitely pick this up if you are a poetry fan and enjoy the the range of moods—from creepy and macabre to pensive to celebratory—that Halloween has to offer, because the author of these poems has managed to capture them all.
Definitely pick this up if you are a poetry fan and enjoy the the range of moods—from creepy and macabre to pensive to celebratory—that Halloween has to offer, because the author of these poems has managed to capture them all.
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October 11, 2023Another book I read on my solo trip this fall. I love that there's someone out there who writes a poem every Halloween, and just in general loves and celebrates Halloween as much as I do, and put together a whole collection of poems and such about it. It was a great atmospheric collection to absorb in small chunks whenever I wanted to feel the frisson of the season.
October 8, 2021
fun Halloween poems and an excellent cover! the inside illustrations were not as cool, unfortunately.
January 1, 2022
Amazing and nostalgic. A must read for any lover of Halloween!
October 30, 2023
Immaculate October vibes
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews