Description:
Another Morning: Poems by William Minor embodies a premise stated in the first line of one of the poems: "All our lives begin and end / with music." Several poems address this theme directly ("Genesis," in which the line quoted is found; "Our Dance"; "Full of It," with its song titles; and the extended poem in five parts: "The Sounds of Kauai"). All of the poems contain their own unique music in terms of rhythm and intonation--providing an engaging, and enhancing, backdrop. In 2011, I was "first grand prize winner" in a national essay contest, "What Music Means to Me," sponsored by RPMDA (Retail print Music Dealers Association). Several of the poems in Another Morning have actually been set to original music I employ when I give readings.
The appeal of music is universal, and these poems reach out to a wide range of readers in another way: they all express aspects of daily life common to both the author and the book's potential audience: the sense of shared existence we all experience in homes in which each room comes to be regarded as sacred. Specific subject matter ranges from fundamental human concerns: friendship, falling in love, longevity in marriage, aging, the decline of physical finesse to philosophical concerns: the nature of time passing, progress (perfecting and perishing); inner versus external existence, sacred and secular love, and contemplation (being a frog on a lily pad).
Extended poems celebrate inspirational thinkers such as poet Charles Peguy and philosopher Ernest Becker--and the author also takes the reader to a tropical island to explore the nature of paradise. I feel that the poems in Another Morning, transform and transcend subject matter and result in skillfully crafted work that will appeal to a wide range of readers and stand the test of time.
Brief description: William Minor has published seven books of poetry: Pacific Grove: poems, drawings, woodcuts, prose; For Women Missing or Dead; Goat Pan; Natural Counterpoint (with Paul Oehler); Poet Santa Cruz: Number 4; Some Grand Dust; and Gypsy Wisdom: New & Selected Poems. He has also published three nonfiction books on music (most recently Jazz Journeys to Japan: The Heart Within) and two memoirs: The Inherited Heart and Going Solo: A Memoir, 1953-1958. Having played jazz piano professionally since the age of sixteen, he was commissioned to write a spoken word suite (Love Letters of Lynchburg), and has also set his own poems to original music. Recent YouTube videos (with original music-Bill on piano) include the title poem from the chapbook, Another Morning: https: //www.youtube.com/watch?v=epJ7eFylCoQ
Review Quotes:
If you enjoy eloquent poetry that examines the merging of music and memory, you will love this collection Another Morning. Poet William Minor offers a journey that compels us to a deeper understanding of the idea that "all our lives begin and end with music." This poetry finds the music that finds us amidst of love, and dance, and travel and "the chill of evening." In the turn of the pages, one will discover why "one must retain everything." Even if on a trip to Kauai, or watching a frog on a lily pad, we will realize what is most essential to our existence. Even if our bodies break down or we find empty spaces in our own minds, there will be "A simple kitchen where we live, to love for one more day."
--Connie Post, Poet Laureate Emerita of Livermore, CA 2005 to 2009, author of
Floodwater winner of the 2014 Lyrebird Award
"We began and we shall end as music," says Bill Minor, beloved polymath of poetry, jazz, and song. His chapbook Another Morning is joyous music--it enfolds us with morning light into the poet's warm kitchen, to celebrate another day, ecstatic with gratitude, fun, and unpretentious talk. How lucky to have been invited in. This poet wants us to enjoy life as much as he does. Even as the poet's aging body decays, we bliss out to laughter and enlightened frogs, Ray Charles and the Avett Brothers, Tarzan--and love shacks on the Wailua River. Minor wants to just "sit here for a few more ... minutes? Hours?/ Centuries? Eternities?" But don't let that fool you. He and his beloved, they cut a rug "with feet that can still sing."
--Ken Weisner, author of Anything on Earth (2010) and Cricket to Star (2019)