Overview

A retrospective poetry debut about the beauty of the invisible and the language of the heart. In this current environment of chaos and uncertainty, Remember the Sweetness returns us to the uncluttered familiar. The poems explore the spirit alive in the ordinary that lends clarity in the face of loss and love. They revel in mysteries perceived through an interior lens. Written in free verse and prose, the poems move between sparse and generous musings, between playful and poignant. Rooted in a quiet strength with courage to examine, it is an intimate expedition through the peaks and tunnels of the heart.

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9781578693993

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Reviews

""In her debut collection, Remember the Sweetness, Polly Giantonio offers a deeply personal exploration of memory, family, and the fleeting moments that shape our lives. Through vivid imagery and tender reflection, she weaves a tapestry of ordinary yet profound experiences: a praying mantis at the doorstep, the first blueberry picked from a bush, a vigil by a father's bedside. With themes of loss, nostalgia, and quiet rebellion, Giantonio's poems invite us into the intimate spaces of life's small but significant moments..."" -Jim Bennett, managing editor of Poetry Kit (poetrykit.org)""In Remember the Sweetness poet Giantonio leaves behind the noise of ticker-tape chatter and reaches past the banal life of suburbia with its 'bookend beliefs'... Some of the strongest poems in this collection are ekphrastic, inspired, for example, by an Edward Hopper painting or Rodin's 'The Kiss.' Giantonio looks backward and forward through an open window. We join her at the sill and breathe in the light."" -Gary W. Hawk, author of Into This Radiance, Kayaking Flathead Lake ""Giantonio's poems locate the spirit-hearts of ordinary moments. Traversing topics of nature and family, life and death, she examines the delicate chains of being we take for granted... Whether examining 'half naked trees with taffeta skirts' or recalling-without a flinch-her mother's 'head of chemo fuzz, ' Giantonio directs us to observe. Alongside her, we ignore our chirping phones to relish the smallest details of the everyday. By steering us away from the noise of the world, she gifts us with sweetness."" -Elizabeth Cohen, author of five poetry collections, one short story collection, and the memoir The Family on Beartown Road

Author Information

Polly Giantonio's poems have appeared in various journals including the Comstock Review, Café Review, and Poets & Writers. She lives in rural Vermont and has led writing workshops for the Vermont Arts Council, the Central Vermont Council on Aging, and the Vermont Community Foundation.

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