The Dust Catcher and Other Poems

Synopsis

These poems are haunting in two senses of the word. They beg to be read aloud, because for the beauty in their sounds. The poet is a master of her craft, working well in various rhyme patterns, various meter schemes. Sometimes her rhymes are exact, sometimes provocatively just off, just enough. More haunting than the poems' technique, however, is the magical, romantic atmosphere throughout the collection. Reminiscent of Poe, the poems are full of gothic, wondrous tales, populated by witches, mermaids, agents of death, ghosts, devils, angels both light and dark, faeries, sweet demons, and spirits of the unborn. Some of these narratives are moral tales, dispensing supernatural justice. But the poet also does a fine job with landscape, weather, descriptions of small towns, graveyards, houses, and nature let loose and running wild.