Dragon Eggs

'Beth Gulley’s new poetry collection, Dragon Eggs, gives us snapshots of the life of someone who has traveled widely and remained open to experiences in strange places such as El Salvador, Nepal, and Kansas. The title appears in a phrase in the poem 'Simplicity,' in which the author’s sons pick up quartz rocks on a beach and pretend they are dragons’ eggs and are 'soooo happy.' Those who read these mostly brief, accessible, understated, deceptively simple poems will be rewarded by finding many gems throughout and will also find delight. The range of experience presented is impressive as are the writer’s fresh observations. In the final poem, 'The New Mythology,' she writes about her grandfather’s sorrow over the loss of a child and of his happiness at her (the author’s) birth. The first grandchild, she is 'the jewel in the new mythology.' Throughout the book many gems in the experiences that make up her developing mythology glimmer.'-Patricia Lawson'In Dragon Eggs, Beth Gulley faithfully follows William Zinsser’s advice for writing memoir: 'Memoir isn’t thesummary of a life; it’s a window into a life.' In this straightforward collection, Gulley recounts memories fromchildhood in war-torn El Salvador, the joys and frustrations of motherhood, and with a reporter’s eye, the unfolding of events that’s she’s observed. Sometimes her voice isphilosophical; sometimes it campaigns for social justice; sometimes her voice is delightfully sassy and self-deprecating.' -Rikki Santer'I have always admired those who can write short poems, well, and Beth Gulley does not disappoint in her book, Dragon Eggs, Spartan Press, 2021. Beth’s poems exemplify the skill it takes to write a short poem that perfectly encapsulates image, narrative, flow, and perspective. For example, 'The Shooter,' captures so much about childhood in its crisp description of a child’s marble. Gulley intersperses very tiny poems, with short poems and prose poems shaped in squares. For all of the littleness of the poems, they cover large territories from international atrocities to love of family, childhood, and maturation, as well as delightfully concrete spiritual moments. Her longer poems at the end of the book, 'I Am From' and 'The New Mythology,' are like a genealogy, providing the reader with the collection’s roots.'- Phyllis Becker