Acrylic Angel of Fate by Shirley McPhillips

$14.49

 

Like Mary Oliver, Shirley McPhillips finds a kind of ecstasy in the natural world of apple boughs, beeswax, acorn and curled oak. Unlike Oliver, she also discovers joy in the world of wigs, outhouses, e-books, online photos and “stayhitched.com.” These are poems of experience from a writer who, you can tell, knows what she’s talking about. “The root does not care where its water comes from,” she writes. And you won’t care either, as long as the poems keep flowing.
–Peter E. Murphy, teacher of poetry and founder of Murphy Writing of Stockton University, NJ; author of Stubborn Child, Thorough and Efficient, Challenges for the Delusional, Mr. Nobody, Atlantic City Lives.

Rating: ***** [5 of 5 Stars!]

 

Shirley McPhillips’ poems are ripe and rowdy, rich with honey and grit. Using the language and rhythms of nature, she describes a woman who’s been on the edge, “unsure what the next wind will unhinge.” Through precise, powerful metaphors, we experience first hand life’s most unexpected and challenging moments. McPhillips’ visually stunning images show the reader “hawks [that] carve up clouds,” and “streams [that] tangle men.” Acrylic Angel of Fate is not only a feast for the senses, it is witty, lyrical and especially poignant.

–Norma Ketzis Bernstock, author of Don’t Write a Poem About Me After I’m Dead

Rating: ***** [5 of 5 Stars!]

 

Deftly swinging between smart, funny, sly and clever, Shirley McPhillips offers a collection of poems passionate and powerful. In one of my favorite poems, “Poemfields,” she offers a piece that feels like anthem and foundation: Yet in the boundary/ between myself and this landscape, / I am closer to what feels hidden. / Soon muddy roots will feed / the blooms. They will not let / their moment slip away, / unnoticed.

And, as readers, let’s not let this poet — Shirley McPhillips — slip away, unnoticed.

–Drew Myron, author of Thin Skin, poems and photos

Rating: ***** [5 of 5 Stars!]

 

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Acrylic Angel of Fate

by Shirley McPhillips

$14.49, paper

A former classroom teacher, Shirley McPhillips has also worked as a literacy staff developer, writing consultant, educational writer, and poet. For several years she was affiliated with The Reading and Writing Project at Teachers College, Columbia University in New York City. Currently she is a member of the Writers Council of the National Writing Project.

In 2000, Shirley coauthored with prize-winning poet and memoirist Nick Flynn A Note Slipped Under the Door: Teaching from Poems We Love (Stenhouse), which focused on writing craft and mentor texts. Shirley’s more recent professional book, Poem Central: Word Journeys with Readers and Writers (Stenhouse 2014), helps teachers bring poetry into their lives and the lives of their students through close reading and writing of poems.

Shirley serves as Poet Laureate for Choice Literacy online (choiceliteracy.com) where she publishes original poems and essays. Her poems have found homes in places such as the Sewanee Review, Journal of New Jersey Poets, Edison Literary Review, Poets Online, and in several anthologies.

In 2016, Shirley’s new book of poems, Acrylic Angel of Fate (Finishing Line Press), made its debut. She is at work on another collection, tentatively titled Mapping the Labyrinth.

When asked about the importance of ongoing professional development, Shirley says, “To devote oneself to growth and learning is probably as crucial a decision as one can make.” She describes effective staff development as “the way we keep our minds open, our spirits creative. The way we come together with others to forge new paths of thinking.”

In a 2015 radio interview with Tanya Baker of the National Writing Project, Shirley talks about her life in and with poetry, and her work with young readers and makers of poems.

 

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