Grief Songs: Poems of Love & Remembrance by Elizabeth Gauffreau

joynealkidney

2 years ago

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.

A Couple of Reviews

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.

My thoughts: My emersion into the poems in Grief Songs, along with those winsome photos, was a bittersweet journey through grief over profound losses but also deeply layered family love. Those saddleshoes, that pipe, a dress with smocking–what endearing details. Tears welled up when I resavored the one called “Time.” A very compelling collection.

Elizabeth Gauffreau

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.