[Fremont / San Francisco, CA August 2023] Raven & Wren Press is proud to announce the release of Eulogy, by San Francisco Bay Area poet Kevin Dublin.
Eulogy, a poem composed while feeding my Father during Gunsmoke is a moving and intimate poem that began while the poet Kevin Dublin was caring for his dying father. With brilliant imagery and lyricism, Dublin recounts his father’s life and poses questions about what it means to live in a body; to live in a body that moves through the joy and terror of the world we live in? And what does it mean to be a person of color in this world of beauty and horror? A powerful recounting of the racism that continues to destroy our country, and a love letter to the love and resilience found in sharing our stories to “ease the aching.”
Eulogy contains a teaching guide and writing prompts for use in the classroom and writing workshops. Music is a recurring motif in the poem, and Dublin includes a downloadable playlist of music dedicated to his deceased father Sylvester W. Dublin. The playlist is comprised of selections by Sam Cooke, Marvin Gaye, Otis Redding, The Soul Stirrers, Hank Williams, Jackie Wilson, Reverend Timothy Wright, the theme from Gunsmoke, and more. It also includes important recordings of Medgar Evers and the first Inaugural speech by President John F. Kennedy.
“Kevin Dublin is that rare poet who has perfectly captured the rhythm of a life lived in work, in joy, and in the horror of racism. Dublin’s Eulogy is a poem of quiet beauty and truth that benefits us all,” said poet and activist Beau Beausoleil. Dublin is the founder of The Living Room Poetry Project in San Francisco, and director of Litquake’s Elder Writing Project. He holds a BA and BFA from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, an MA from East Carolina University, and is also the author of How to Fall in Love in San Diego (Finishing Line Press, 2017).
Raven & Wren Press 