HOW MANY IS ONE

About the Book

Some years ago, I found that I liked to write poetry. Sometimes I was even good at it. But I really didn’t know anything about how to do it properly. I didn’t know the rules, and everyone knows that you have to know the rules before you can break them, particularly when you’re writing. Otherwise, you might not break the rules according to the rules.

So, at the age of seventy, I went back to school. And there I was, me and all the 20-year-olds, seated in a circle and learning how to write poetry. We had to write a new poem each week, and I was totally sure I could not do this. I was totally amazed to find that I could. And although I took some liberties here and there with the rules, just like everyone else, nobody minded at all.

The next step, of course, was to put the poems in a book. This scared me all over again, but I got to thinking about the world I live in and all the other people in it, and how sometimes the only thing that binds us all together is our highly varied approaches to spirituality. As I thought about how to build a book of poems around all this, the following came to me.

In this life of mine, where I try to deal gracefully with my own shortcomings and disappointments, and to acknowledge without judgment that others do the same, I am increasingly aware of how these inner battles affect the Earth. It is easy to see how our choices and actions impact our environment. It is easy to forget that, if we have the power to impact for ill, we also have the power to impact for good. Remembering to love and care for our world and each other in every moment is possible. I hope that my poems reflect the process in a way that appeals to you.

Joanna Hawthorne


Readers´ Comments


"Ms. Hawthorne´s voice ... is a voice of wisdom, speaking directly and unapologetically to the reader about the journey she has taken, one that has brought her reason and understanding, and finally, a strong sense of self won tenaciously through a lifetime of experience."
Mario Rene Padilla, Professor of Creative Writing, Santa Monica College

"Joanna Hawthorne´s poetic personal journey is written with depth, range and humor. Her thought-provoking images inspire us to honor our uniqueness, as well as our universal humanness."
Rusty Berkus, Author of Your Path To Spiritual Starhood

"Joanna Hawthorne´s work reminds us of the old-fashioned virtues of good poetry: Memorable images and sounds created by beautiful language, focused on real life situations. Hers is a humane and optimistic voice that sings of the best in humanity."
Bruce Anders, Professor of English, West Los Angeles College

"Joanna has lived a balance of poise, empowerment, understanding and compassion. These tenets are needed to impact and mitigate daily living, but are usually found in our later years. In How Many is One, she has fine-honed these basics into the perfect message, that the One God´s Plan is not confusing at all."
Jim Great Elk Waters, Author and Lecturer