Umbra

About the Book

“Umbra” is a collection of poems that traces the cycles of life and death, loss and change, which are strangely like the eruption of sun spots—shadows within radiance, a kind of murkiness within all parts of life. With honesty, thoughtfulness and precision of observation, Myrna Patterson connects ordinary experience and the concrete with the natural world and the sacred. She creates a paean to the human spirit which can forgive and find acceptance, even in its bleakest moments. Writing without self-pity or blame, she says, “I sit in dark. I sit in light.” Yet, “By being simple, present...” in this moment, transcendence is possible. Across a tapestry of fear and uncertainty, ritual and faith prevail. Ms. Patterson condenses strong feeling into compact images, demonstrating that there is great goodness, despite suffering. Love, kindness and beauty are antidotes to pain; joy can be found in nature, in dance, in flowers, in remembrance, and within the simple gifts and rhythms of everyday life.

About the Author

Myrna Patterson was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts. After receiving her M.A. degree from Harvard University, she taught English as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Chad, Africa. She has taught for over 37 years, has written literature curriculum guides for teachers, and was a Massachusetts Cultural Council Writer-in-Residence. A Squaw Valley Community of Writers poet, Ms. Patterson has also studied with Stephen Dobyns at Vermont Studio Center, and with Marie Howe and Cleopatra Mathis at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, MA. She conducts private creative writing and poetry workshops in Cambridge and on Martha’s Vineyard, and teaches at the Cambridge Center for Adult Education, and at Kripalu Center in Lenox, MA. Her website is www.howtowrite.org.