Synopsis "Bartered Breath: The Poetry of William R. Griffin"
This collection of 156 poems embodies a lifetime of lyrical poetry from a retired journalist and Vietnam Navy Veteran with a keen ear for metrical lines and artistic eye for vivid and memorable images. From a deep Irish [Eire]-American background, small river-town Ohio upbringing, and life on the Ohio River in KY, Griffin has the Irish gifts of verse, courage, story-telling, Irish Catholic roots, a sense of humor and wit, and a fine reverence for the work of another Irish William, William Butler Yeats, whose influence is seen in many poems here. Griffin has the ageless American-boy traits of innocence, adventurousness, and wonder that keep his imagination highly-tuned and some of his topics very basic and humble and others eloquent and mystical. Rivers, water, oceans, and skies play a big part in the poems, and his Navy years bring experience and emotion to the writing. The book contains poems about childhood in Ohio, family, Nature, seasons, Christmas, industrial landscapes, war, deep feelings about the contemporary culture, God, metaphysical musings, the universe, aging, time passing, and love in its myriad forms. There are several little poems about animals and one about coffee, for fun. Fluent in Spanish, Griffin even has a lovely poem in Spanish for those who can read it. The book as a whole shares a beautiful and spiritual view of existence. It is a book that is truly a sum of its parts. It radiates with the author's gift for the perfect word and keen ear for a lilting lyric. The influence of the work of Samuel Johnson, W. B. Yeats, Edgar A. Poe, Thomas Hardy, Lewis Carroll, and Picasso are noted by the author. Ancient cities and epics, heroism, young love, love lost, and chivalry all appear in this riveting collection, whose poems were written over 40 years. The Vietnam War, "9-11," and a helicopter crash are poignantly remembered. The poems are meant to be read aloud, in that ancient and heroic Greek and Irish tradition of keeping culture and history alive for future generations. Enjoy poems that make you want to reread them from a poet for whom the glass is not half-empty or half-full, but joyously overflowing.
