Ways of Mercy By Allison Grayhurst
Allison Grayhurst gives us beautiful thoughtful imagery that is divine, devoted, full of passion and sometimes some darker themes. Her lines such as “All the while the / stars melted” will enrapture poetry readers
Amazon USAWays of Mercy: The poetry of Allison Grayhurst Paperback – March 11, 2021 by Allison Grayhurst (Author)
- ASIN : B08YQR3ZQC
- Publisher : Independently published (March 11, 2021)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 132 pages
- ISBN-13 : 979-8720154585
- Item Weight : 7.2 ounces
- Dimensions : 6 x 0.33 x 9 inches
Review by LB Sedlacek:
Allison Grayhurst gives us beautiful thoughtful imagery that is divine, devoted, full of passion and sometimes some darker themes. Her lines such as “All the while the / stars melted” will enrapture poetry readers. Her lines and verses present a strong voice. Some poems are philosophical, some are pastoral, but all are cleverly written. This collection seems to affect an introspection asking readers to consider their own humanity. The book is presented in two sections that compliment each other well. “The Earth becomes a song,” another line from the book declares the author’s talent, value over everything else for poetry.
No grief, No madness
See yourself with real eyes,
there is no need for useless mythology.
The winter has come, the plants have died.
In spring they will take root and begin
to show promise. Just like you,
nothing magical –
You swell in times of joy
and deflate in times of sorrow,
stitching the inflatable boat.
This is your seat, accept it.
The struggle is the dream,
a hot order of suffering, unnecessary.
Stand up, kiss the Buddha and sit down.
AUTHOR BIO
Allison Grayhurst is a full member of the League of Canadian Poets. Four of her poems were nominated for “Best of the Net” in 2015/2018, and one eight-part story-poem was nominated for “Best of the Net” in 2017. She has over 1260 poems published in more than 500 international literary magazines, journals and anthologies in Canada, United States, England, India, Ireland, China, Scotland, Wales, Bangladesh, Romania, Austria, New Zealand, Colombia and Australia.
In 2018, her book Sight at Zero, was listed #34 on CBC’s “Your Ultimate Canadian Poetry List”.
Her book Somewhere Falling was published by Beach Holme Publishers in 1995. Since then she has published fifteen other books of poetry and five collections with Edge Unlimited Publishing.
Prior to the publication of Somewhere Falling she had a poetry book published, Common Dream (1991), and four chapbooks, (Before the Dawn, Joshua’s Shoulder, Perfect Love, and Jumana), published by The Plowman, all in 1989.
Her poetry chapbook The River is Blind was published by Ottawa publisher above/ground press in 2012. In 2014 her chapbook Surrogate Dharma was published by Kind of a Hurricane Press, Barometric Pressures Author Series.
In 2015, her book No Raft – No Ocean was published by Scars Publications. More recently, her book Make the Wind was published in 2016 by Scars Publications. As well, her book Trial and Witness – selected poems, was published 2016 by Creative Talents Unleashed (CTU Publishing Group).
More recently, her book Tadpoles Find the Sun was published by Cyberwit, August 2020.
Collaborating with Allison Grayhurst on the lyrics, Vancouver-based singer/songwriter/musician Diane Barbarash transformed eight of Allison Grayhurst’s poems into songs, creating a full album. River – Songs from the poetry of Allison Grayhurst was released October 2017.
Allison Grayhurst’s completed published work to date is available to read in six volumes titled The Poetry of Allison Grayhurst – completed works from 1988 to 2017, all published in 2017 by Edge Unlimited Publishing. Selected poems from this body of work are published in Sight at Zero (selected poems 1988 to 2017), Edge Unlimited Publishing, 2017.
Allison Grayhurst also sculpts, working with clay and casting into concrete. Her sculpting body of work can be found in the published book The Sculptures of Allison Grayhurst, Edge Unlimited Publishing, 2017.
She lives in Toronto, Canada, with her husband Kyp Harness, their two children and animals. She is a vegan for the animals.
Contact the author: [email protected]; www.allisongrayhurst.com
Some of places her work has appeared in include Parabola (Alone & Together print issue summer 2012); SUFI Journal (Featured Poet in Issue #95, Sacred Space); Elephant Journal; Literary Orphans; Blue Fifth Review; The American Aesthetic; Agave Magazine; JuxtaProse Literary Magazine, South Florida Arts Journal; Gris-Gris; The Muse - An International Journal of Poetry, Storm Cellar, New Binary Press Anthology; The Brooklyn Voice; Straylight Literary Magazine; The Milo Review; Foliate Oak Literary Magazine; The Antigonish Review; Dalhousie Review; The New Quarterly; Wascana Review; Poetry Nottingham International; The Cape Rock; Ayris; Journal of Contemporary Anglo-Scandinavian Poetry; Existere; The Toronto Quarterly; Fogged Clarity, Boston Poetry Magazine; Decanto; White Wall Review.
Book titles below were written in this order:
Book 1: Journey of the Awakening, 1997
Book 2: The Longing to Be, 1998
Book 3: Death and Other Possibilities, 2000
Book 4: Outliving the Inevitable, 2002
Book 5: Into My Mortal, 2004
Book 6: Red thread - Black thread, 2006
Book 7: The Many Lights of Eden, 2008
Book 8: Pushing Through The Jelly Fire, 2010
Book 9: The River is Blind, 2012
Book 10: Seamless - A Collection of Love Poems 2012
Book 11: If I Get There - Poems of Faith and Doubt, a collection 2012
Book 12: Wallpaper Stars, 2013
Book 13: For Every Rain - a collection of early poems 2013
Book 14: Jumana and Perfect Love - two poetic prose pieces 2013
Book 15: Walkways, 2014
Book 16: As My Blindness Burns - three long poems, 2014
Book 17: Our Children Are Orchards - collected poems about animals, children and pregnancy, 2015
Book 18: Fire and more, 2016
Book 19: Currents - pastlife poems, 2016
Book 20: The Fault of Sages, 2017
Book 21: Sight at Zero - selected poems (1988 to 2017), 2017
Book 22. The Poetry of Allison Grayhurst - completed works from 1988 to 2017 (Volume 1 of 5), 2017
Book 23. The Poetry of Allison Grayhurst - completed works from 1988 to 2017 (Volume 2 of 5), 2017
Book 24. The Poetry of Allison Grayhurst - completed works from 1988 to 2017 (Volume 3 of 5), 2017
Book 25. The Poetry of Allison Grayhurst - completed works from 1988 to 2017 (Volume 4 of 5), 2017
Book 26. The Poetry of Allison Grayhurst - completed works from 1988 to 2017 (Volume 5 of 5), 2017
Book 27. The Poetry of Allison Grayhurst - Collections from 1988 to 2017 (Volume 6), 2017
Book 28: The Sculptures of Allison Grayhurst, 2018
What Others Say About The Poetry Of Allison Grayhurst:
“Grayhurst’s poetry is a translucent, ethereal dream in which words push through the fog, always searching, struggling, and reaching for the powerful soul at its heart. Her work is vibrant and shockingly original,” Beach Holme Publishers.
“Allison Grayhurst’s poetry has a tribal and timeless feeling, reminiscent of the Biblical commentary in Ecclesiastes,” Cristina Deptula, editor of Synchronized Chaos.