Relative Sanity

An elegiac array of poems, with nostalgic themes of loss, longing, betrayal and forgiveness, Relative Sanity reflects on a lifetime in Michigan’s north country. 'This lovely collection is a kind of travel narrative by a writer who ’can never get enough sky.’ In poem after poem, she travels the lands of heartache and joy with grace, clarity and wisdom.' -- Jerry Dennis, author of Up North in Michigan: A Portrait of Place in Four Seasons'Within this stunning collection, Ellen Lord’s poetry takes full flight into the realms of imagination. Deceptively fragile, the poems come to the reader as delicate as glass, but closer exploration reveals the tough structure beneath the lines. Her words carved a place for themselves in my heart: ’a solitary raven destined to nest on the moon,’ ’fermata of silence,’ ’the sky becomes a palette for memories of going home.’ Prepare for enchantment.'-- Sue Harrison, author of national bestselling novel, The Midwife’s Touch'When Ellen Lord channels her inner Mary Oliver, there is a graceful glow to her spare, rich images that-like a Zen sage-can open the reader. Turn the page and find emotional power and grit rendered with equal skill. The balance of familiarity and surprise makes this expansive collection a joy to read and re-read.' Bob Chelmick, producer/host, www.roadhome.fm'Relative Sanity, like the best first collections, encompasses a long experience, from childhood, through career (a behavioral health therapist), marriage, and widowhood. These are poems of occasional ecstasy but also regret. Lord’s often short lines seem to show the influence of Japanese poetry in which small thoughts carry much weight. Her use of nature images is suggestive and compelling. In the poem ’Fish Tales: An Elegy’ Lord establishes her place among the best new (to us) and sublime lyric poets. Soaringly erotic, she describes her own seduction and implied loss (the title...An Elegy) in eleven lines. One can sense the wildness in Ellen Lord. And one is grateful that her long introspection and emotional intelligence has created this marvelous book of honest artful poems.' --Lee Kisling, author of The Lemon Bars of Parnassus'These are not long, complicated poems in rhymed verse that drag on while you try to figure out the poet’s purpose. Lord’s fine reflective, emotional efforts provide captivating insights and vivid, memorable images.' --Ray Walsh, Lansing State Journal'Lord’s poems are all quite personal, and her work abounds with the wonder she experiences in the Upper Peninsula. She can write of a simple trout stream or in her last poem entitled 'North Country Elegy' she tells of how much she loves U.P’s. 'raw winter nights’ and in the face of all the evidence wonders how 'she learned to be alone.' Unquestionably this is the launching pad for a very promising talent.' -- Tom Powers, Michigan in Books'I was sad when I reached the end of this book. I wanted to keep reading more of these beautiful poems! They were so enjoyable, and the author writes her poems in a way that seems to take the reader along on a gentle journey through Michigan, through her history, through life, and the beauty of nature. This is a book I know I will return to read again and again, one containing poetry that I cherished. Relative Sanity is a very healthy dose of all things that can keep us sane in a world that is not.' -- Dawn Colclasure for Reader Views (04/2024)From Modern History Press www.ModernHistoryPress.com