Memories Linked Like Oases

A book of 129 poems that range from personal observations about human behaviour via physics and art/culture to perspectives on cites and politics. The book is divided into ten equal-length groupings of twelve poems each, plus a Fourwords and Afterwords section. An introduction titled On Reading a Poem for the First Time and an About the Author section (not written by the author) complete the interior. Praise for the Book Duane Vorhees uses moments from history and his story as a successful analogy for the state of humanity in general, with particular attention to the progression of feelings through time. Many of the poems in this collection feel pleasantly cryptic at first reading, but they often reveal themselves upon revisiting, moving from simplifications into specifics that justify the poet's generalities. There is a great reverence for sound in these poems, too, which make good but sparse use of rhyme and assonance. Some of the poems are funny too. There is a strong theme of spiritual and political protest running down the stream of the collection, and it's extremely refreshing to see the poet seamlessly transition from voice to voice. -Dominic Francis, author God's Pretty Game of Grotesque Puppets Duane Vorhees's poems tiptoe on classical notes in a sense that they crave for and aim at the bygone era when he actually experienced the emotions. These are classical in a sense that they are "recollected in tranquility." He masters the moments and provides us a glimpse of the fineness and deficiency peculiar to the event. I often read them once as a whole and again one line at a time, only during your second journey you might walk in the shoes of the poet himself, meander in the meadows of echo and sighs, cheers and cries. -Kushal Poddar, author Postmarked Quarantine Icy and warm in almost the same breath. When you finish one you may have to brace yourself for the next plummet or sudden ascent. But this is as it should be when you read a poet who has been at work for as long as Duane. There are few subjects outside his range. Yes, you may have to take a breather here or there in this collection to get your proper bearings. But Duane's poems also glide serendipitously through those liminal spaces between the Magical and Mythical and Ego/Rational dimensions of consciousness. Indeed, one wanders through this forest of wonders only to bump into the spirit of the Ancients here and that of Modernists over there. To open a book of Duane's poems is to start up the gangway to an Ark shaped like a Castle. Or is that in fact an Interstellar Oasis Caravan? In any case, lucky readers will know they are in for a heck of a ride! -Robert Perchan, author Fluid in Darkness, Frozen in Light and Last Notes from a Split Peninsula: Poems and Prose Poems [V]ery exciting poems. [The author has] been very consistent in thought-provoking poems and will in no small way contribute significantly to the world of knowledge and literature. [His] poetry seems to mark a new beginning of intellectual product of our everyday life. [T]he worth and joy of reading [this poet's] work cannot be ignored. -Rashid Pelpuo, Deputy Majority Leader, Parliament of Ghana