Description: A sharp eye and an ear for rhyme threads through a life of obstacles and losses, leading finally to gratitude and a joyous peace.
Deborah Smith Parker's father instilled in her a love of rhyme with a childhood filled with the rhythm of humorous verse. Her humor seasons every poem, even those larded with pain. Her memories of love and loss--long frozen--return to burden her with grief and dreams of death. She looks up in despair; ultimately it is with her stubborn optimism that she sees the stars and "heaven bowing down in awe" and weeps with gratitude. Deborah Smith Parker's Wit Snark is a collection of poems, vivid, personal, and authentic. Parker searches for her place among other poets, and settles on her own place, where her father "woke those gods who slept inside of me." With Billy Collins' light touch of whimsy and the bite of modern sarcasm, Deborah Parker's poems speak unflinchingly to hidden truths with a voice echoing resilience and ultimately, joy.Review Quotes: "Wit, Snark, and Light in the Dark is a compelling and convincing account of the humor and seriousness within the human condition, and as the title suggests, is accomplished using a plethora of perfect meter and rhyme. ... Keep a copy handy ... It will add music to your life." --Lifelong poet and winner of the San Diego Book Award for his book, Left Unlatched, R. T. Sedgewick
"Deborah Smith Parker's Wit, Snark, and Light in the Dark, tethers her poems both to the natural world and to her rich understanding of human struggle in such a way that allows her to braid the two experiences, leaning on mythology, shamanism and mysticism to gain clarity regarding loneliness, family dynamics, and a recognition of our spiritual aspects." --Kelly Madigan, author of The Edge of Known Things, and Getting Sober: A Practical Guide Making It Through the First 30 Days "A compelling and convincing account of the humor and seriousness within the human condition, and as the title suggests, is accomplished using a plethora of perfect meter and rhyme." --R. T. Sedgwick, author of three full-length collections of poetry including Left Unlatched, a San Diego Book Award winner "Parker tethers her poems both to the natural world and to her rich understanding of human struggle ... [and] utilizes humor throughout, which contributes to the good energy beaming out from this expansive collection." --Kelly Madigan, author, The Edge of Known Things and Getting Sober: A Practical Guide Making It Through the First 30 Days