Poems On The Reality of Being a Woman, May 31, 2005
Reviewer: Cottonwood

Swirls On a Green Plate dares to be real instead of romantic. Interesting how the grandmother, who is passed on, reflected her own opinion. Are grandmothers living within us, just waiting to give voice through mothers and daughters? Poems on packing house work, Sleep disorder, blood on the highway, to widowhood, red boots and antique dishes. Very real topics, very easy to read.

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Verse by Real Women, for the Real Women in our lives, August 1, 2005
Reviewer: A. Austin (Rutherfordton, NC United States)

This book came into my hands "accidentally" and I enjoyed it so much that I immediately bought it plus 4 copies as gifts, including 1 for my own Mother.
This poetry moved me SO profoundly in so many ways that it's hard to put into words! Normally, to be dreadfully honest, I'm not much "into poetry".
But.
Moving through the book from start to finish felt much like "eating a slice of life"; vicariously enjoying the relationship that is special to these two women yet somehow as familiar as my own with my mother and with women who have been "like second mothers". The Ordinary becomes Extraordinary when viewed so intimately and honestly. I couldn't stop reading.
Among my favorites, the thoughtfully humorous and slightly sarcastic "Movie Critic" by Dene, The chilling reality of sudden change exemplified in "The Awakening" by Annie, the ironic humor in "Big-Bottomed Women" and the loving tribute to Mother and Motherhood in "I Should Have" also by Annie...too many to mention, really. That's why I bought 4 copies for loved ones and 1 for myself! :) Looking forward to more from these women.

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Mother and Daughter in Sync, August 4, 2005

Reviewer: Janvan (ND to NY to NC) - See all my reviews

Swirls on a Green plate is a wonderful, thoughtful, endearing set of poems by a mother and daughter who obviously love each other and are very comfortable with getting into each other's "heads!" This can be seen so clearly in "Mother in 2004" and its companion, "Who's That Crone?" Mother Madonna's "commandments" are surely words for all of us to live by. Dancing with My Mother is a real joy and brings out again how much pleasure they find in each other. Whimsical thoughts like, "Big Bottomed Women" and "Pantyliners" express the everyday thoughts that we don't see as succinctly and cleverly stated elsewhere as they are here!! Ah, but when we read the anguish of Country Widows burying husbands one by one, we have to wonder why they would then take casseroles to "Small Town Widowers." Is this a comment on history being doomed to repeat itself or what? The Heirloom Song is a wonderful ending for a book that will be an heirloom for many women to share with a dear friend or with her own daughter. Of course, I have to mention that "Jan on Max Patch" is my favorite.

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A treasure, August 9, 2005
Reviewer: J. Kooiker - See all my reviews

What a treasure! This little book is both funny and poignant. In it a mother and daughter share honestly about the small and momentous events in their lives. Elemental things such as eating, using public restrooms, widowhood, cats, and dancing in the street. These are womanly things, not girlie things. The pride, enjoyment, and love they have for each other is obvious, and reassuring. I'm ordering copies for my sisters and my mother to remind us that "a part of each is a composite of all the others."