Plicata Press
Blue Deer: Four generations of poetry, 1945-2010
by Colleen Slater http://www.colleenaslater.com/
Blue Deer – Four Generations of Poetry covers a span of 65 years. The first poem, which provides the book title, was penned in 1945 by the author’s father in his native Scots dialect.
Author Colleen Slater composed her first poem at age seven. She considers herself more rhymer than poet, although more free verse has been published than rhymed pieces, and one is sandblasted into a walkway in a public park. This book began as a way for the author to share her work with her family, and expanded to include pieces by other family members.
ISBN: 978-0-9828205-4-4
Author Colleen Slater grew up hearing stories, nursery rhymes and music on a daily basis. She listened to stories her father made up to entertain his children, and songs learned in his native Scotland.
Her first published poem was four rhymed lines in a Sunday School paper, and she has an unpublished collection of short stories from pre-teen and early teen years.
Publications in various media include two books, several anthologies, individual pieces of poetry, short fiction, non-fiction, and local newspaper columns.
Blue Deer evolved from a desire to publish her own poetry in book form for her family, adding pieces from a son who writes poems, songs, plays and fiction, poems from three grandchildren, and placing two of her father's works as bookends.
The title of the book is from her father's description of a son's early years that included chasing imaginary blue deer.
The book includes varied poetic forms, including shape poems, sonnets, haiku, nonsense rhymes and serious pieces of childhood, nature, relationships, just for fun, and outside the box.
SHE GOES SOFTLY
For Michelle
A vibrant life
Full of love and laughter
But time for thoughts
And what comes after
A life cut short
Too soon to die
There’s so much to do
And your soul wants to cry
Things left unfinished
Loose ends untied
Places to go
Adventures untried
The world around
Careens on its way
But she goes softly
To a bright new day