Sole

by D.E. Oprava

73 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2010

About the author

D.E. Oprava is an award-winning writer, artist, and lecturer. He holds a PhD from Swansea University and is currently the Subject Leader for Creative Writing at Cardiff Metropolitan University. Six of his seven published books are collections of poems; however, his most recent, The Codex Epiphanix (Bluemoose Books, 2016) is a hybrid of prose, poetry, and original artwork. The book hones in on his personal feelings about the essential vs the incidental in literature and how a book, by its very nature, should be a multi-dimensional experience. Oprava has long been a champion of the experimental and when not writing, drawing, or reading, he is trying to find new modes of expression and experiences to fuel the endless creative process.

Reviews

[Amy Harper · Rating 5 out of 5]

D.E. Oprava’s new collection of poetry is a turn from his previous endeavors. In his last book of poetry, “American Means,” Oprava explored a hard, gritty, stark political landscape. In his new work, “Sole,” the reader is invited to genuflect on the elementary, starting with a footprint of his daughter, moving towards a common humanity: soul, and ending with a new understanding: sole as in “one.” It is a beautiful, delicate work, beautifully bound, and richly composed. Words so sparse and spare that I want to weep for the lack of them. But each word carries its own weight, so I must not weep. I must not.

[Jason Mashak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oprava's Sole takes the reader through vivid memories of youth and discovery (of, among other things, the transitional overlap from boyhood into manhood), with such a natural flow, that I felt upon having read it that I'd finished a great novel, without all the fluff. He's a writer who has not only found his Voice, but has crafted it with efficiency and a universal enough lens that it reads confidently like the voice of his (our) generation. Bravo.