The rapid-fire rhythms in Veronica Patterson's & IT HAD RAINED, charged with the lyricism of poetry and the ruminative strides of prose paragraphs, enlarge the reader's awareness of the world: bird, wings, rain, water. "What I like about [Patterson's work] is how naturally it makes its moves. As the story opens, the dreaming speaker is drawn into an alley strewn with flowers and fruit, which ... creates a sense of the forthcoming abundance ... From this beginning, the poet journeys outward to her mother as a thousand-faced ...
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The rapid-fire rhythms in Veronica Patterson's & IT HAD RAINED, charged with the lyricism of poetry and the ruminative strides of prose paragraphs, enlarge the reader's awareness of the world: bird, wings, rain, water. "What I like about [Patterson's work] is how naturally it makes its moves. As the story opens, the dreaming speaker is drawn into an alley strewn with flowers and fruit, which ... creates a sense of the forthcoming abundance ... From this beginning, the poet journeys outward to her mother as a thousand-faced cup, to her father as a red-haired boy, to the samovar of a great-aunt, who 'died of having lived. I can only congratulate the poet on a fine, heartfelt, delicate work." -Lola Haskins "Characterized by remarkable invention and wit, in rare combination with philosophical depth and genuine feeling, [Patterson's work] ... deserves wide circulation."-Leonard Trawick
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