The following review was contributed by: CAROLYN HOWARD-JOHNSON award-winning author of This is The Place and Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered

Poetry as Therapy

Poet Dessa Reed's Book Builds Bridges

In an introduction to one of the sections in Seven Bridges, poet Dessa Byrd Reed readily admits that ""poets love to create a poem about creating a poem."" That should make the subject taboo for poets for, after all, their goal is to see the world and tell of it in a new fresh, way. That poetry has been a theme for so many makes approaching the subject very tough indeed.

No matter. Reed succeeds in bringing us, certainly, lovely poems on many subjects but her success was most vivid for me when she attempted to compete with all those who have sung about poetry in the past. Starting on Page 17 she begins with a mini-essay on poetry (little rills of prose on different subjects are liberally sprinkled throughout the book) and then includes a poem where she wishes for a ""poetry spray-gun."" Don't we all? Even if we write fiction? Even if we are readers only? We curl up with a book in our hands to feel the weight, smell the ink and we hope for an unforgettable image.

Reed builds other bridges for the reader as well. She is at her best when she puts her poet's brain to struggle, including widowhood and addiction. Her excellence also blooms when she is in a nostalgic mood. Truly a builder of bridges, this one!

Carolyn Howard-Johnson's first novel, This is the Place, has won eight awards. Her newly released Harkening, also a collection of stories, has won three. Her poems have appeared in review journals like The Copperfield Review and Sparks Margazine.