As you my readers know, I love poetry and all the nuance, paradox and emotion conveyed by the magical manipulation of words. When I heard from Joan, a native of the Bronx, raised in an Irish family, I was captivated by the idea of a memoir in verse.
And so I asked Joan if she would like to write a guest post for my blog, to introduce you to her writing. As a theme for her piece, I suggested she focus on what it means to her to be Irish, and to share her Irish American story.
When I read her submission, I was blown away. As Joan wrote, her answer turned into verse, memories coming to life through familiar names, places and an Irish American backdrop that influenced and illuminated every moment of her childhood.
I am honored to publish Joan’s poem, Irish Litany, here today. I hope her poetic words will resonate with you, as they did with me.
Handler conveys the emotions and thoughts of her early teen self in a manner that recalls my own adolescent years. She speaks in a very frank and personal way that will both in turns pull you in and disturb you. Read more at Simply…
If you have questions about your faith or about Catholicism in general, this is a good book for gaining a better understanding. Even if you don’t have these questions but were once the one labeled Too Tall or Tattle Tale (or a myriad of other nicknames),…
I have become a fan of reading coming of age stories, and “Confessions of Joan the Tall” is a memoir that I won’t soon forget. Read the full article at WV Stitcher
Read the entire article here.
“Nothing is perfect, nothing can be, but Joan was able to put a bit of humor on it and the innocence of a young child growing up amid the trials of being good, staying good, and being surrounded by a good family to do…
In The Red Canoe: Love in Its Making Joan Handler brings both honesty and balance to the intricate world that is a marriage. Her means are consistently inventive as her lines enact feelings and thoughts. Her focus is unremitting as she makes the reader…
GlOrious is honesty, whole and pure, peeking its way from the dark corners of a loneliness in the heart, one that aches against the falsehoods about love so that it can live. This collection is the spirit speaking its own exegesis, a shimmering. Handler…
With this blog, I'm joining my lives, my loves: my profession as a poet and also as a psychologist. My belief in the psyche and the unconscious and the ways each get played out in our lives-with ourselves, with spouses, parents, children, friends.