"It is my hope that those of you who read the following pages come to know me a little better, as that's what poetry is; a window into the heart, mind and soul of the writer."
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Golden Hours by Lois Anne Polizzi Trafford Publishing
book review by J.A. Garcia
At once a collection of poems, brief narratives, and family history, Golden Hours allows readers a glimpse of Lois Anne Polizzi's every day life as she rejoices and laments, celebrates and mourns. Following the title poem, Polizzi goes on to describe Mary Elizabeth Sandy Duffy, the grandmother she never met and author of the poem, "Golden Hours." Polizzi writes, "Although I never knew my grandmother, she influenced my life greatly. Because I was told she sang, I wanted to sing too. Because she wrote, I wanted to do the same." Polizzi's love and reverence for her family is also apparent throughout her collection, with honest poems about her mother's morning ritual, her father's unconditional love, and her Uncle Don's hard life. Beyond her family, Polizzi's rhymes also reveal her "mind and soul" as she regrets the loss of her childhood in "The Doll," explores marital life in "Ode to a Trucker's Wife," and considers the unexpected gifts of aging in "Beauty."
Of special note are the brief narratives staggered throughout Golden Hours. The stories about Polizzi's grandmother, her childhood in Raymond, New Hampshire, and her father's hospitalization provide timely breaks from the poems, as well as interesting narrative and thematic threads, which serve to unite the poems into a coherent collection. Polizzi's ear for song and rhyme, along with her honest observations about her family and her life, yield an insightful collection that arguably fulfills her hope. Readers will come away with the sense that they have gotten to know Polizzi's heart, mind, and soul.