Drawing Down the Moon, Poems by Allison Creighton

The poems in Allison Creighton's Drawing Down the Moon explore the tension between the internal world of the mind and of dream, and the external world-how one pervades the other. Also conveyed in many of these poems is a sharp awareness of the duality of body and soul, and the sense at times, of a disconnection or an intense integration of the two. The reader will see flashes against the dark and perceive bursts of vision in a world that is mostly unseen. These poems ask us to encounter that world, to draw it in.

Sample Poems by Allison Creighton

"Every once in a while a new poet emerges fully formed, with her own voice, style, and vision. That is the case with Allison Creighton's first book, Drawing Down the Moon. Unlike most first books, these poems are deeply resonant, moving, and memorable, with 'past and future colliding/at the point where I stood.' In addition, they have been polished to near-perfection. Especially haunting are poems based on dreams, such as 'The Fisherman of Treasure Island,' where she dreams of being a mermaid being reeled in by her wayward brother. Virtually all the poems are built on a foundation of mystery, and convey palpable longing, fear, grief, and passion, as vividly as poets such as Adrienne Rich and Louise Glück. It's that good."-Howard Schwartz, The Library of Dreams

"Allison Creighton's beautiful first book speaks to us, as lyric poetry often will, of the places where pain has been the first and foremost resident. But this is an uncommon book, admirably discreet, where pain has been transmuted by passion, love's fire, which cleanses all wounds. In these poems, the poet succeeds at her gallant goal: 'I am trying to take you from the darkness/to a luminous place.' Her readers will want to go with her, hoping to learn how to sing of love."-Steven Schreiner

Allison Creighton holds an MFA from the University of Missouri-St. Louis. She has published poems in journals and anthologies and received first prize in the 2010 Wednesday Club of St. Louis Original Poetry contest. Allison teaches part-time at Washington University in St. Louis and serves as a contributing editor for River Styx.

ISBN: 978-1625491312, 86 pages, $18.00

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