Why am I passionate about this?
When I drafted the pieces which eventually comprised Melancholic Parables, I had no plan. Only upon arranging them into a collection did I discover that, surprisingly, they shared emotional moods and thematic elements. In other words, I had stumbled into a linked collection. Writing a single big story is no small feat, as is writing small stories which each intrigue and delight in their own right—but to create and arrange multiple small stories so that they aggregate into a big story, one greater than the sum of its parts (in ways sometimes counterintuitive, sometimes virtuosic) is a special storytelling skill which I think these five authors’ work exemplifies.
Dale's book list on little stories that link to tell big stories
Why did Dale love this book?
On my list, this is the only book of poetry, but the emotional journey its linked poems chart makes it perfect for inclusion.
Gilgamesh finds his wild friend Enkidu, loves him, loses him—and is racked by grief. The poems bear us through myriad forms of yearning for a bosom companion who will never come home—a plot of emotions, not events.
A finalist in the Grayson Books Poetry Contest in 2020, the inventively structured book features each poem in English and Spanish on facing pages.
1 author picked Enkidu Is Dead and Not Dead / Enkidu esta muerto y no lo esta as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.
In this bilingual collection of poems, inspired by the Epic of Gilgamesh, the king grieves the disappearance of his wild friend Enkidu. Each poem appears in English and Spanish, translated by the author.
When you are not talking to me, I conjure you.
When I lose my way between campfires, you are with me.
When my body wastes away, you are in me.
When I want to be somewhere else, you stalk me.
A finalist in the 2020 Grayson Books Poetry Contest.
En esta colección bilingüe de poemas, inspirada en la Epopeya de Gilgamesh, el rey llora la partida de…
- Coming soon!