I break all the rules of what is considered “good” blogging. I don’t stick to one theme; my subjects are all over the place. I don’t incessantly “market” (polite word for “promote”) my own work. I don’t ask for opinions just to get people to interact with me, as suggested by marketers, (although I appreciate comments). So, in my continued rule-breaking, I’m going to post a review on a recent book I enjoyed, and it’s not even about horses.

Alma Margaret Permar’s Written in the Margins, Poems Touching the Essence of Life, (Wheatmark 2011) shares life experiences and emotions in a beautiful, well-displayed collection. In Permar’s own words, “There are the margins: the places where we’ve written notes to ourselves that reveal the essence of our journey.” Her poems range from just a few words to two pages in length in this 185-page volume, with most pages including one poem. Like much of reality, the writings cover happiness, grief, wonder, and hope. Permar’s choice of words and ability to capture the deepest of thoughts in soothing prose make for a wonderful read.

I began dog-earing pages for those poems that especially touched me and found that by the end of the book, I had dog-eared a good portion of the pages. I was struck by Permar’s talent to write so personally, but in a way that allowed the reader to feel those emotions as his/her own. The author also treated subjects as different as remembering a lost parent to reflections of nature with equal literary grace. I enjoyed thumbing through, reading the titles, and deciding which suited my mood at the time, knowing they would all be good. With the publisher’s permission, I’d like to provide a sample of Permar’s work:

“We, the Artists”

Every life is a work or art
Years painted onto the canvas of being
Events composed into a symphony of becoming
Moments written into the poetry of now
Life molded into the sculptures we are

All of us are the artists of our lives.

Permar broke her work into seven chapters, each with its own theme, for example, Letters Weave Words, Learning Creates Possibilities, etc. Beautiful, meaningful photographs accompany each chapter heading. The author’s husband, George R. Macpherson, and her daughter, Martha Rhoades-Spivey, both photographers, provided the chapter photos as well as the front and back cover photos. The art of the photography contribute immensely to the work and its pleasing layout. I truly enjoyed Written in the Margins, and would recommend it as a great book to add to any collection, and as a tremendous gift for those special in our lives.

And somewhere in the margins, I’m sure the author mentioned that sometimes it is okay to break the rules.