| |
A Collection of Anecdotes and Reflections on Life
ForeWord CLARION Reviews writes:
"Each entry is accompanied by a striking full-color photograph that depicts the theme. The resulting book is a masterful blend of text, illustrations, and design in a hardbound volume of wit and wisdom that can be showcased as a coffee table edition or used as a handy source for daily inspiration."
"Paull admits to finding his subject matter in 'clichés, thoughts, memories, and observations.' But he gives each one the indelible stamp of his personal insight. In 'Hide and Seek,' the children's game becomes an opportunity to show how 'everyone is waiting to be discovered.' He cautions that it's never too late to accept the challenges of life as a race, and suggests that 'you are what you eat' applies as much to one's mental as physical well-being. In 'Have You Ever Noticed?' he explores the wonders of the world."
"Two of Paull's most powerful and moving pieces are 'The Painful Now' and 'A Rare Day in June,' both written just weeks before the death of his son, Bryan, in an automobile accident on his way to write a college pre-testing examination. Close behind is his reflection on the impact of his father-in-law's death upon his wife."
"Paull invites his readers to 'enjoy the book in the hope that the thoughts and reflections that it brings to you, offer the same joy and peace that was mine when I wrote them.' It is a worthy sentiment and admirably achieved."
M. Wayne Cunningham
ForeWord CLARION Reviews
November 2008
The Experience of Being Human - (3 volume set)
ForeWord CLARION Reviews writes:
"Readers may find a poet whose emotional make-up is like their own, and allow the words to provoke pleasure or pain almost without noting whether or not the poet possesses a fully developed sense of the craft. This last type of reader may take the most pleasure in the works of Paull, and join with him in wrestling with the questions inherent in their own human experience."
Walking Through Life - (Volume 1):
"Paull likens moving through life's passages to 'a long and soulful walk,' and his poem by that name traces the poet's steps into the unknown future, anxious and fearful of the 'formless void' he saw before him, yet having the faith needed to take the 'one step at a time' that would bring him home. 'Feelings' explores the excitement of living with the awareness of one's feeling nature, and how overwhelming it can be when one becomes aware, not only of one's own feelings, but of those of others as well. 'The trouble with life outside of you is that it touches the life inside you' the poet declares, deciding that life requires the openness to feel love deeply, all the while knowing that it 'demands to be given away'."
"Highlights of this volume include 'The Place of Quiet Tears,' notable for its tone of gentle intimacy; 'The Meeting Place of Grief,' which looks at the heart as meeting place and unifier; and 'Can Christ be Far Behind,' which moves beyond the personal to the coming of the Cosmic Christ, when 'time shall be no more'."
Talking with God - (Volume 2):
"Talking With God, the second volume in the series, offers deeply felt musings on the author's path to maturity and wholeness, a journey that, while not devoid of suffering, is nourished by faith and hope. Paull's 'questions and casual conversations with God,' are here marked by the sense that, no matter what is happening, he is secure in God's love."
"The poems cover events and experiences in Paull's life from his early manhood through his growth to maturity as he tries to understand and find meaning in the events of his life. 'Existence' finds the poet asking, 'Why is it that my existence / Seems to bring such pain to others?' 'Decisions' explores how making choices leads one through doors that often have no handle on the other side that would allow one to return to a past reality. It expresses the unease often associated with having to make life choices.
Perhaps the most poignant poem in this volume, 'Waiting,' describes Paull's anguish at circumstances that delayed his marriage to the woman he loved; 'waiting for the fulfillment of what already is…' strengthened his love and endurance."
The Person - (Volume 3):
“The final volume in the series, The Person, is an introspective musing on the poet's awareness of the human need to experience love, both from others and toward oneself. Yet Paull notes the unpredictability of people and their emotions, as in the poem 'Change': 'but have you tried to hold on to someone / who is spinning / They're too hot to hold / Their motion makes you dizzy.' The poem ends with his realization that it is perhaps better this way, since it fosters self-reliance, trust, and love for oneself.
Paull touches upon topics as simple, yet profound, as the need to know the difference between conditional and unconditional love ("Receiving the Gift of Love"), and loneliness and the beauty of mature love ("Alone But Not Alone"). He expresses the amazing gift of love fully given and received that allows for the knowledge of the other as he/she is, as in 'You're Becoming Clearer.' In this poem he reveals how he sees his wife, a truth known by all who truly love: that 'the closer you come / the brighter you become / …And [I] find the place where true love begins'."
M. Wayne Cunningham
ForeWord CLARION Reviews
November 2008
|
