Silver Stage - Book Reviews

Two poets and a novelist, all of whom live in Colorado's San Juan Mountains, share their extraordinary talents with readers, not only locally, but with the world. Beth Paulson, Ouray, Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer, Telluride, and Dave Casler, Ridgway, with their releases of CDs (the poets) and books (all three) take us beyond ourselves, to different worlds.

Beth stretches beyond her usual poetry by publishing a collection of essays, Uniquely Ouray: Reflections on Life in a Mountain County, all of which first appeared in the Ouray County Plaindealer between May, 1999, and January, 2007.

From "Women with Sticks," which describes a hike up the Old Twin Peaks Trail, ascending 1,400 feet in 1.2 miles, to "Fifty Things to Do in Winter," a prescription for those afflicted with cabin fever, Beth's perspective on things ordinary captures the reader, often creating delightful periods of introspection.

Add to that Beth's CD, By Stone, By Water, in which the listener hears, not only her voice, but her vision, and the world looks hopeful, enigmatic, a place for uncommon adventures. "Patches of prickly pear" edge the trail she hikes in the title piece, where she notes "hunters and the hunted - humans live in stone, too" and concludes "a soothsayer found shelter by stone, by water." We, also, found shelter.

Rosemerry's exuberant songs contrast with Beth's quiet recitation, and introduce the listener to many cultures in her CD Suitcase of Yeses. "Waltz on the shrinking stage of maybe" she challenges in "Choose Headlong" then fills the air with sound words in "Racket" as she reveals the world seen by a toddler enjoying "the unlikely thrill of so much noise."

Rosemerry also has a second little angel book out, More Christmas Angels, in which she reflects on the Christmas season through Victorian era Christmas cards, 1878-1925. In her usual multi-cultural manner, Rosemerry includes cards from the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Demark, Sweden, Russia, Italy, and France, in addition to some from the United States.

Insatiable is Rosemerry's box of pages poetry book, in which she ponders "Lessons from the Weeds", "Bummer: A Sonnet" and "Life's a Beech", a delightful, wooden, excursion into creative vocabulary, among others. The poems can be shared with friends or framed and hung, or held to the refrigerator door by magnets. Truly an out-of-box experience.

Another out-of-box experience comes from the imagination of Dave Casler, the inventor, sort of, of the Great American Flying Broomstick. An accident of place and time gives Dave a power he doesn't understand, but proceeds to test. In Book I: Genesis, he explains his broomstick, his wand, and the trouble they cause. Dave's conversational tone (complete with parenthetical asides) draws the reader into his world. His home base is Ridgway, Colorado, but his duties take him to Utah, and London. Dave's attention to details (he's an engineer) puts the reader on a broom alongside him. Be sure to hook up your carabiners on the safety harness, then soar to Mt. Sneffles! A real plus to Broomstick is the frank way in which Dave discusses his bi-polarism.

All the work reviewed herein is available at Sagebrush Books in Montrose, Buckskin Booksellers in Ouray, and Cimarron Books and Coffeehouse in Ridgway, as well as online: Dave at www.americanflyingbroomstick.com, Rosemary at www.word-woman.com, and Beth at www.wordcatcher.org.