Subtitle: A Book of Poems to Feed the Soul
Author: Artemis Craig
Genre: Inspirational and Religious Poetry
(Sale Sheet Info Below)
Reviewer: Marlan Warren
I have respect for anyone’s spiritual journey. And I have
a lot of respect for the poet Artemis Craig, whom I met at USC, while we were
both in film school studying screenwriting. We only met once, in the changing
room of the gym, but her feisty humor made a lasting impression.
“Before they’re done, this school’s gonna own the drawers
on my butt!” she said. I don’t know about her, but that school does own the
drawers on my butt. The one thing I
do know that we share is post-film-school depression. A not uncommon affliction
in L.A.
Now, a couple decades later, Craig has risen out of the
ashes of Hollywood as an evangelical poet who has walked through fire, and
lived to tell her story in the form of Inspirational
Verse for Those Who Hunger and Thirst: A Book of Poems to Feed the Soul.
With straightforward honesty and a gift for storytelling,
Craig has arranged the poems in this anthology as an odyssey washed in the
blood of heartaches, losses, and disappointments after returning home as the
Prodigal Daughter. All the elements that make “inspirational verse” inspirational are there
(finding and praising the Grace of God), woven into searing moments from Craig’s
life, told with her flair for dramatic prose and metaphor.
Her post-graduation first experience--pitching to execs at
a major studio--soured her forever on staying on that track. Many film school
alumni can relate (this one does). A sensitive soul, Craig stayed away from the
written word until she began writing poetry in the 21st Century,
finally gaining the spiritual strength to openly share it in 2013 with this
book.
The poem that opens the book, “Speak Now,” reflects the pain
felt by many a disillusioned film student:
Without words I
became invisible which was fine by me,
Found a home for my
anger and bitterness in my invisibility.
Disappointment and
hatred festered inside all the while,
But none knew because through it all I wore a smile.
I felt personal resonance with her personal poems about loss.
One deeply regrets missing the passing of her grandmother because Craig was
busy pursuing her career on the other coast. I was at USC editing my film for
class when news of my father’s sudden passing came.
One of the most moving poems is “Life Not Mine to Save,” remembering
her futile attempts to save her father’s life when he died of heart failure:
One, one thousand,
two, one thousand
Chest compressions
like I’d been taught weren’t enough
Formed a seal over
your mouth and into it blew a quick puff.
Stay with me! Stay
with me! But you refused to wake
Afterward she fills such bitterness, that she questions
God’s actions:
Though it’s hard to believe, your life was not mine to save.
Anger at God is all I can feel,
That along with the hope that somehow
This can’t possibly be real.
The poem plays out like a short film. With a “resolution”
that is accepting and spiritual:
Away from me, Daddy, your body lies in the cold grave
It seems like only yesterday, try as I might,
Your life was never mine to save.
But mine to cherish in moments of panic and doubt,
To keep as memories when I feel trapped and can’t get out.
I had an elderly aunt who would tell the story of her life
and end it with “I didn’t know they’d throw the book at me!” Here, Artemis Craig,
has thrown a book out of her life for others to gain some solace as they
grapple with their own journeys.
As Charles Bukowski once said: “What matters most is how
well you walk through fire.”
About the Author
Artemis Craig was born in a rural town in Birmingham,
Alabama to a steelworker father and educator mother. She graduated with a BFA
in Cinema and Television from the University of Southern California. She is the
mother of one son, Roderic, who is her inspiration. Her hobbies include writing
poetry in the Gifts of a Wordsmith group at her local library, as well as,
performing at the On Stage at the Carver Theater open mike showcase. Currently,
Artemis is finishing her second poetry book, Southern Fried Comfort Food: Recipes to Encourage the Soul, as well
as her first novel, a sci-fi murder mystery, A Little Taste of Death. She divides her time between Birmingham,
Alabama and Newport News, Virginia.
Author Website: https://artemiscraigpublishing.com/
SALE SHEET INFO
Title: Inspirational Verse for Those Who Hunger and Thirst
Subtitle: A Book of Poems to Feed the Soul
Author: Artemis CraigSubtitle: A Book of Poems to Feed the Soul
Publisher: Artemis Craig Publishing (Nov. 6, 2013
Paperback: $15.00 Pages: 64
ISBN-13: 978-0989087605
ASIN: B00HLXV864
Genre: Inspirational and Religious Poetry
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#ArtistSurvival
#ChristianPoetry
#FaithBasedPoet
#Recovery
#SpiritualOdyssey
#Evangelical
#Poetry
#ArtistSurvival
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