The collection features poems that blend spontaneity with deep emotional undercurrents, exploring themes of reticence and subconscious impulses. With a mix of profane and poignant tones, David Dodd Lee's work is marked by a satirical edge, presenting a vivid and authentic experience that feels both immediate and reflective. The poems resonate with a sense of reality that is both grounded and transcendent, inviting readers to engage with the complexities of human experience.
Vancouver Island in British Columbia offers an idyllic setting for outdoor enthusiasts, featuring stunning waterfalls, hidden fishing locations, and expansive wilderness trails. The island's remote attractions are often reached via rugged logging or mining roads, making it an ideal destination for four-wheeling adventures.
"Leaves are all around us--in backyards, cascading from window boxes, even emerging from small cracks in city sidewalks given the slightest glint of sunlight. Perhaps because they are everywhere, it's easy to overlook the humble leaf, but a close look at them provides one of the most enjoyable ways to connect with the natural world. A lush, incredibly informative tribute to the leaf, Nature's Fabric offers an introduction to the science of leaves, weaving biology and chemistry with the history of the deep connection we feel with all things growing and green. Leaves come in a staggering variety of textures and shapes: they can be smooth or rough, their edges smooth, lobed, or with tiny teeth. They have adapted to their environments in remarkable, often stunningly beautiful ways--from the leaves of carnivorous plants, which have tiny "trigger hairs" that signal the trap to close, to the impressive defense strategies some leaves have evolved to reduce their consumption. (Recent studies suggest, for example, that some plants can detect chewing vibrations and mobilize potent chemical defenses.) In many cases, we've learned from the extraordinary adaptations of leaves, such as the invention of new self-cleaning surfaces inspired by the slippery coating found on leaves. But we owe much more to leaves, and Lee also calls our attention back to the fact that our very lives--and the lives of all on the planet--depend on them. Not only is foliage is the ultimate source of food for every living thing on land, its capacity to cycle carbon dioxide and oxygen can be considered among evolution's most important achievements--and one that is critical in mitigating global climate change."--Publisher's description
Exploring the paranormal landscape of San Jose, this collection of contemporary ghost stories captures the eerie encounters and spectral phenomena experienced throughout the city. Each tale reflects the unique history and culture of San Jose, intertwining local legends with personal narratives. The author’s extensive research and firsthand accounts provide a vivid portrayal of the city's haunted past, inviting readers to delve into the mysteries that linger alongside its million residents.
Few poets of Western America fill the "organic intellectual" role better than David Lee. His poetry is the real deal when it comes to recording hilariously insightful (and linguistically accurate) observations of rural culture--and America at large--while using a host of astute literary allusions and techniques. Imagine Robert Frost simultaneously channeling Will Rogers and Ezra Pound. Imagine Chaucer with a twang. Bluebonnets, Firewheels, and Brown-Eyed Susans is focused on the women of mid-20th century rural Texas: frontier survivors and the daughters of frontier survivors, indomitable women with tastes that run from Baptist preaching to bourbon-and-branchwater. No element of hypocrisy escapes the poet's lethal attention. This is an authentic book of the mid 20th century based on actual characters, a paen to women who shaped and molded the poet's life. It is in many ways a folkloric study of women in hard times: characters, survivors, intellects, harbingers, anonymous influencers. Utah's first and longest serving Poet Laureate, Lee has received both the Mountains & Plains Booksellers Award in Poetry and the Western States Book Award in Poetry.
HEMATITE AND TALES of streets paved with gold drew boatloads of Europeans to the Marquette Iron Range in Michigan's Upper Peninsula in the late 1800s--including my ancestors. the rugged terrain and savage winters of their new home on the "mountain of iron" threatened their survival, yet they had no chance of returning to the Old County--and they knew it. Some left, but the hardy ones stayed, threw up mining camps and drove mineshafts deep into the granite. They raised families--built churches, railroads, and schools--they created a river of iron that cascaded out of the wilderness. Then the Great Depression struck in 1929 and the river of iron dwindled to a trickle. Without means of support the iron miners and their families persevered against a destroyed economy and fierce winters. This is a tale of how my family survived those tough times. It tells of simple things like collecting water, chopping firewood, and slaughtering hogs, but it is also a template for raising and educating a family on challenging terrain in the midst of poverty.
