Gold, Hay and Stubble: One Journeyman's Ten-Year Poetic Diary: 1996-2006 - Softcover

Sparks, John

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1418440981 ISBN 13: 9781418440985

Publisher: AuthorHouse, 2004

Synopsis

I am an engineer by training and trade but in reality, an artist at heart. In January 1996, I decided to capture my annual year-end reflection in verse, which was to become my first ever poem. My first poem quite naturally led to the second poem, as this new adventure begin to capture my heart. The total eventually exceeded 300 during the seven-year period 1996-2003. Gold, Hay, and Stubble contains 104 of my personal favorites, which are time sequenced as a poetic diary. A helpful feature of the book, which makes it suitable for study by students, is the precise dating of each poem and the identification of verse form. Hopefully the dating will allow a student to sense some sort of skill progression as time goes forward. Dating also allows the general reader to sense both the overall and seasonal drift in my poetic thought. Brief commentaries or dedications are also provided for selected poems. Another feature that may seem a little unusual is the random insertion (space permitting) of untitled, undated Haiku and Tanka throughout the book. I am continually fascinated by these minimalist Japanese verse forms and view them as appropriate "seasoning" for the book''s main poetic course. Again, both are randomly scattered throughout the book which means that they can appear anywhere and sometimes seemingly out of place-just like the dropping in of unforeseen events in our otherwise well-planned and well-scheduled lives. Finally, my hopes are that you will enjoy this verbal offering. May your thoughts be challenged in new and instructive ways as you read and reflect on the contents herein!

About this title

About the Author:

John C. Sparks, shown on the left with his wife Carolyn of 37 years, is a native of Xenia, Ohio and a Xenia High School Graduate-class of 1965. He went on to earn technical degrees at Wright State University and the Air Force Institute of Technology. Like the current United States Poet Laureate, Mr. Ted Kooser, Sparks has not spent his career as an academic poet, but as an engineer and teacher of mathematics.In late 2003, Sparks received the Ohio Association of Two-Year Colleges' 2002-2003 Adjunct Teacher of the Year Award for his long-term efforts in improving mathematics education in the greater Dayton area. In the technical writing genre, Sparks has written a commercially-available book, Calculus without Limits, intended as a study aid for first-year calculus students. He has also written a compilation of mathematical formulas and processes, The Handbook of Essential Mathematics, distributed freely in Adobe format to the American public by the Air Force Research Laboratory. Gold, Hay, and Stubble is the culmination of ten years of learning the art and mechanics of writing poetry. The book contains 131 of Sparks' personal favorites, selected on the basis of quality and spiritual impact. Many other poems were written during this time period, and most were published in two preceding, locally-distributed chapbooks.

About this edition

• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 1418440981
• ISBN 13: 9781418440985
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 120