When a loved one dies, the family will often turn to the photograph albums as an act of solace, to keep their loved one with them just a little while longer. Grief Songs: Poems of Love & Remembrance arose from that experience. The collection opens with three free verse expressions of raw grief, followed by a series of photographs from the author’s family album, each paired with a poem written in tanka. Taken together, they tell the story of a loving family lost.
JJ Casey: Grief Songs by Elizabeth Gauffreau is a wonderful collection of short poems and poignant, old family photographs. Altogether, a heartfelt and personal tribute to love, life, laughter and the difficulties in-between. This short book is a strong testament to Liz’s acumen as a writer and poet—the most difficult to write well are the short poems, where word choice and structure become so important, and Grief Songs is replete with prime examples. My favorite is ‘At The Cottage’:
“pensive eyes downcast / salt-laden breeze, bird racket / second pregnancy / birds devour chokecherries / before long spoiling the lawn”
So much to unpack in so few words—bravo, Liz.
Elizabeth Gauffreau writes fiction and poetry with a strong connection to family and place. She holds a BA in English/Writing from Old Dominion University and an MA in English/Fiction Writing from the University of New Hampshire. . . .
Liz grew up a child of the 1960s in northern New England before spending twenty years in the South as a Navy wife. After working for Granite State College in Concord, New Hampshire for eighteen years, she accepted a faculty position as Assistant Dean of Curriculum and Assessment at Champlain College Online in Burlington, Vermont. In addition to academic advising, teaching, and higher education administration, her professional background includes assessment of prior experiential learning for college credit. Liz lives in Nottingham, New Hampshire with her husband; their daughter has flown the nest to live in sunny California.
You may want to learn more about Liz Gauffreau on her website.
I agree; Liz is quite talented.
I’m learning from her winsome examples!
Thank you, GP.
I couldn’t agree more, Joy. Liz’s collection brought tears, smiles, and overwhelming nostalgia. Beautiful! Congrats to Liz! ❤️
Thank you, Lauren. Those winsome details, even in the photos.
Thank you very much, Lauren!
My pleasure, Liz!
Liz is a terrific writer besides being one of the kindest people who exemplifies how bloggers should act toward one another.
Amen, Pete! I’m disabled by long-time fibromyalgia and am so blessed by so many generous bloggers! Thank God for social media!
Thank you very much, Pete.
Beautiful. Thank you so much for sharing this, Joy.
Thank you, Deborah. This one is a favorite!
Well, now I know more about Liz and what this talented writer has been up to! “Grief Songs” sounds like it offers a good way to shed cathartic tears to release the stress of loss. Compassionate people come up with ideas such as this.
I’m so thankful she shared them with the rest of us.
Liz is so talented. This will surely pluck at one’s heartstrings.
It sure will. Thank you, Tim.
A superb collection of poems by a remarkable storyteller. This book will resonate with everyone and is one to reread every now and then.
It also encourages me to dig into more details when I write something. Encouraging as well. Thanks, Darlene!
Thank you for sharing this post with us! Liz is so very talented and her words do come ‘from the heart’. I like your last comment about digging for details…you and Liz are both very good at that! 🙂
Thank you, Linda!