Bill Cushing's Review of Linda Imbler's Lost and Found

From time to time, I publish book reviews.  Tonight I would like to share with you the celebrated Bill Cushing's review of Linda Imbler's new book.  As you may remember, I posted Linda's poems in the 1940s contest just last month.

REVIEW: LOST AND FOUND by Linda Imbler (2018: Emerald Bull Publishing)

Linda Imbler’s second collection of writings, Lost and Found, consists of 17 pieces of writing, most accompanied by her own illustrations that correlate with the general theme of the writings themselves. The line drawings associated with the book are frequently “titled” with a quote from the connected composition.

The book itself is divided into segmented sections that begin with “Lost and Found” and “Paradise Lost” and conclude with “Paradise Found.” Each intervening segment is a reflection of corresponding theme and contains work focused on the thematic elements presented.

For example, check the “sense of humor” that is “found” in her poem “Fly Me to the Moon,” wherein a hip (dare I say “fly?”) fly lives its life to the fullest before too quickly learning how short that life span actually is. Other elements, both “lost” and “found,” include Courage, Family, and Reputation.

Imbler’s musical background is also displayed in the poems, which range from free form improv to highly structured formats. As she advises in “Blood,” her readers should “see me as you will.”

These pages also include some poetic-prose pieces, each displaying Imbler’s deft descriptive skills. This is especially evident in her melancholy recollections when meeting an elderly widower in “The Visitation,” which the narrator bases on the fact that, like the couple in the writing, elephants also “mate for life.” And apparently beyond.  

Although spare in length at 31 pages, Lost and Found is—as stated in its notes, a ”poet’s guided tour through the peaks and valleys of the human heart”—making it a volume worth repeated visits. 

If you would like to purchase Linda's book, please see this link:  https://www.amazon.com/Lost-Found-Linda-Imbler/dp/1981854177

Linda's poems recently appeared at The Song Is...  http://thesongis.blogspot.com/2018/06/welcome-to-linda-imbler.html

Let's turn on some music as well, starting with "Fly Me to the Moon":  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0U5VdSQwkl4

"Little Girl Blue" fits into the theme of lost:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnir-mPERbY

I'll finish up with Charlie Christian's version of "I've Found a Brand New Baby": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StIk6pjRt78&list=PLN_4spwUMszw0eXF51YBDkBE6_1j7aRY3