About j. lewis' a clear day in october

Before we know it, it will be October again, so I'd like to promote j. lewis' book, a clear day in October.  Let's start with the forward to his book by Laura M. Kaminski.

Forward!

I was stunned and honored when j.lewis invited me to write the foreword for his first full-length collection of poetry, so much so that I agreed without thinking ahead about how exactly I would manage to do that. 

My expectation of a foreword is that it serves as an introduction, something along the lines of Reader, meet Poet. But how do I go about introducing a poet who has written the line: “i never felt i needed describing”? 

Alternatively, a foreword can serve as history and prescription, explain where the poems came from, and what the reader ought to think of them. But I can’t pretend to know either of those things well enough to blithely presume to tell you. Or you. Or you. 

So how do I set your expectations so that you are somehow prepared before you begin to turn the pages? Offer up a pre-departure checklist? Bring your eyes, there are exquisite pictures. Bring your appetite, there’s pizza. Bring your ears, there’s music so loud you can hear it.

Dust off your own memories of childhood desires and disappointments. Open the quiet closet of your experiences as a parent. Find the twins – reverence and irreverence – bring them both. Bring along the bridges you have crossed, bring the ashes of the ones that you have burned.

Clean the surface of whatever device on which you receive the news of grief in other places, other cultures, other nations. You are cleared through security to travel, enter hospitals and prisons. Tuck a handkerchief discretely in your pocket just in case. 

Are you ready to walk past empty rooms, sit in a café, read a recipe for sacrifice and faith? Are you ready for rain, for grief? Are you willing to slop pigs? Are you willing to be torn and mended, blessed? 

Then come, and welcome. You’re invited to make your own contrails across this sky, this clear day in october. 

Forward!

Laura M Kaminski

Here are a few reviews from Amazon:

Very Sherry Terry

5.0 out of 5 stars  Well done, Jim! This book is fantastic!

August 14, 2017

Honestly, I'm not a fan of poetry. Then I met a friend at her job for lunch, and she had a copy of a clear day in october. She thought I might like the pictures as I love photography, so I borrowed it. What an unexpected delight I found in the words. I fell in love with the poetry, and I felt compelled to leave a review.

Jim Lewis has opened my eyes to the world of poetry with a clear Day in october. I loved this book. I give it 5 out of 5 stars. Not only are the pictures worth 5 stars, the poems are exquisite and deserve the highest rating I can give as well.

I loved the poem, Empty. The haunting words struck a chord in my heart and the photograph with it brings the feelings home. It haunts me still. Quietly, for Mother Theresa was a beautiful tribute, and First Lie will speak to everyone.

Jim brought out all of my emotions with his lovely words, and the pictures make me want to do some traveling. He's a fantastic photographer, and the book is worth having on your coffee table just for them.

I highly recommend a clear day in october for anyone who enjoys poetry, photography, and a warm feeling inside.

CJ Clark

5.0 out of 5 stars  Brilliant, heartwarming and thought-provoking

January 18, 2018

You know that feeling after a chilled day of slogging through obligatory tasks, when you come home to your warm house, make a cup of steaming cocoa and settle on a comfy chair to gaze at your Christmas tree and a crackling fireplace fire-that moment when you exhale and your bones settle and the world feels perfect? That feeling is A Clear Day in October. The first poem I opened to was All I Want. I had to dab away a few tears because it is exactly how I feel about my dog. Each poem, each photo feels like unwrapping an eagerly anticipated gift. Brilliant.

James Keane

5.0 out of 5 stars  A natural tour de force

February 1, 2017

“a clear day in october” by j. lewis is not a work of art. It is two works of exquisite art. Stirring, top-quality poems, inspired and driven by a lifetime of experience that lewis has gained in his unflinching embrace of both the joy and pain of human nature. Presented in concert with lewis’s beautiful, professional-quality photographs, his manifold testament to the vibrant presence of physical nature in all its varied, authentic and exhilarating beauty.

If you would like to purchase j. lewis' book, here is the link:

https://www.amazon.com/clear-day-october-j-lewis/dp/168073055X

You can also contact him at his Facebook page about purchasing the book: https://www.facebook.com/poetryontap/

I was just browsing through j. lewis' photographs on Facebook, and they are quite amazing!

Here is Art Pepper's "The Breeze and I," which complements the photographs nicely:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulG_PHqswzs&list=PL1qtoihP8C4lTsnlhYoAXQ69QNOpqEDDn

His "Autumn Leaves" will give you a foretaste of our next season: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Aih33-49dA&list=PL1qtoihP8C4lTsnlhYoAXQ69QNOpqEDDn&index=4

I'll finish with his "Patricia": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXNpG0w_rks