Raven & Wren Press

In Beneath a Strawberry Night Sky, Robin Michel asks: “Will poetry redeem anyone?” The poems offer a powerful response. —Shara McCallum, No Ruined Stone and Madwoman It is a marvel to witness the exploration of pain and joy as a marriage ends … Many readers will find a place for themselves in her skillful poetry. —Heather Saunders Estes, All In Measure, A Book of Hours 2020-2022 and Cloudbreak  Neither a reproach nor a celebration, Beneath a Strawberry Night Sky is a look at the underside of the known world, where everyone is at fault, there are no clear solutions, and the painful beauty of the search is all that is left. —Indigo Moor, Everybody’s Jonesin’ for Something and Through the Stonecutter’s Window [The poet’s] subjects are illuminated moments of the joys, sorrows, and mysteries of family life and of the natural world. These words, spare and beautiful, call forth the memories of the reader in a breathtaking way. Her poems are wise and powerful. —Lynne Kaufman, Playwright and Novelist Robin Michel’s courageous poems take us on a journey of inner and outer worlds … A journey many of us have made or will make … as we “tightrope” our way to a new life … These poems recognize the shape-shifting nature of love and the way poetry saves us. —Angie Minkin, A Balm for the Living [This collection] deftly captures the experience of divorce and its impacts on the family in a compassionate, honest, and reflective manner. I would recommend Beneath a Strawberry Night Sky to all family law practitioners, especially those just starting out.  —Christopher J. Donnelly, Family Law Attorney (retired) and SFUSD Law Academy Mentor Price includes shipping and handling.

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.” $7.50 plus $2.50 shipping and handling 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.    – Beau Beausoleil, author of The Killing of George Floyd and Another Way Home

James M. LeCuyer’s Stories for Clever Children & All Curious and Thoughtful Adults features ancient and wise talking tortoises, a lonely dinosaur who finds love, and lessons in life for readers of all ages. It is a delightful combination of humor, deep truths, and the wisdom of age. In a well-crafted balancing act of humor and poignancy LeCuyer provides stories that will entertain the child in all of us. — Andrew C. MacRae, Darkhouse Books “Grampa Jim tells the best stories….my favorite is about a monster fish that would eat the whole world! —Tezla, five years old I found the stories to have plots and intriguing to read. “A Castle Built of Magic Sand” is the last story in the collection. Appropriately enough, it is the one I liked best. Jim did an excellent job. — Giovanni, fourteen years old

“HOW TO BEGIN is an incisive guide to poetry, blending instruction with inspiration. Drawing upon the Fresh Ink Poetry Collective’s decades of knowledge and experience, the book is a feast of prompts, explication of a wide array of traditional forms, glossary of poetic terms, practical tips on how to start a writing group, and poems as examples—including the anthology of terrific poems written by members of the collective across the years. HOW TO BEGIN is a testament to the belief in poetry as practice, nurtured by dailiness and sustained by being in a community of others engaged in the art.” —Shara McCallum, author of No Ruined Stone and Madwoman “HOW TO BEGIN will help to bring out the poetry in you and to the world.” —Chun Yu, author of the poetry memoir, Little Green, a Memoir of Growing Up During the Cultural Revolution; and co-founder, “Two Languages / One Community” Price includes shipping and handling

Poet Sara Mithra says of Miller’s book that the “autobiographical images gleaned from the Great Depression accrue a mythic thickness under Miller’s spare line. From above — a climbing tree, attic, a rooftop party — we telescope into precious objects like a “briefcase full of shells” or a “whale shape rock.” A naive girl knocking her head on a table grows up, dreaming a timeless raven. One cycles through unpredictable loss and recovery, as in a mist. A wedding ring tossed into the water later resurfaces as a bone ring. The attendant reemergence of mortality from the maw of nature is delineated as gracefully as a birch.”