Poems by Jennifer A. Payne
About the Book: Part social commentary, part lament, the 73 poems in Evidence of Flossing: What We Leave Behind are, at their heart, love poems to the something greater within all of us. Their investigation of the human condition and its folly — politics, religion, development, technology, consumerism — is juxtaposed to a series of poems about our natural world and the possibility of divine connection.
Poetry + Trash Ask Readers to Consider “What is our legacy in this vast and wondrous Universe?”
Would God floss? Do spiders sing? Can you see the Universe in your reflection? Explore the answers to these questions and more in Evidence of Flossing: What We Leave Behind, a new book by Connecticut author/artist Jen Payne.
A timely publication given the state of our world, Evidence of Flossing is more than a simple poetry chapbook. Its pages are illustrated by a random, absurd, and heartbreaking assortment of original and vintage photographs, including a series of discarded dental flossers that inspired the title of the book.
A take on traditional street photography, these images examine human nature from a different and thought-provoking perspective. Several of the photographs were featured in a recent Arts Council of Greater New Haven art exhibit entitled “Where the Whole Universe Dwells.” They are part of a collection of more than 100 photographs of used dental flossers found by Payne between 2014 - 2017, and speak to the subtitle of the book: What will we leave behind?
Evidence of Flossing: What We Leave Behind follows on the heels of Payne’s 2014 well-received book LOOK UP! Musings on the Nature of Mindfulness, and continues a dialogue about our innate connection with nature. Both books are published by Three Chairs Publishing, www.3chairspublishing.com.
Paperback: 180 Pages
Genre: Poetry/Art
Publisher: Three Chairs Publishing (October 1, 2017)
ISBN-10: 0990565114
ISBN-13: 978-0990565116
Evidence of Flossing: What We Leave Behind is available in print at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Etsy, and IndieBound.
Praise:
“The poems in Evidence of Flossing: What We Leave Behind are a brilliantly incisive
commentary on our simultaneous human sense of beauty and waste and loss.” — Dale Carlson, ALA Notable Book author
“In Jen Payne’s exquisite introduction to Evidence of Flossing, she provides the purpose of this book: to illustrate, poem by poem, the very fraught relationships which define us, human to human, human to earth and animal, and human to the unifying spirit, which may or may not be her lower case “god.” She is sober, admonitory, enraptured and antic by turns, her illustrative photographs always a source of pleasure or irony — often both. This is a most unusual book, richly thoughtful and sorely, sorely needed.” — Nancy Fitz-Hugh Meneely, author, Letter from Italy, 1944
“It’s uncanny how Jen Payne grabs hold of seemingly ordinary strands of life — then surprises us with new meaning. A master at storytelling, Jen brings us to the realization that the stories she shares are actually ours. An engaging, thought provoking and masterful reflection on our collective legacy in this world.” — Mary O’Connor, author, Life Is Full of Sweet Spots and Dreams of a Wingless Child
Review by Crystal J. Casavant-Otto:
Evidence of Flossing
is a thought provoking read
that left me forever changed;
somehow simultaneously
poignant and uplifting.
This poetry book takes readers wherever they themselves want to go. Evidence of Flossing can easily be a lovely gift for a friend or simply a coffee table book that serves as a conversation starter. It can also be an uplifting spiritual experience if you as a reader want to take it to that level. A combination of street photography and poetry, this book is absolutely beautiful on a superficial level as well as when digging much deeper. The experience is completely dependent upon the reader themselves. The author, Jennifer Payne, provides the medium and the reader determines what they are ready for.
This is not a book you will read and forget. In fact, it’s the type of book you will refer to friends, pick up from time to time, and think about often as life propels you forward. The inspiring and uplifting meditations and beautiful photography make this is a great read across the genres and ages.
About the Author:
Very often, her writing is accompanied by her own photography and artwork. As both a graphic designer and writer, Jen believes that partnering visuals and words layers the intentions of her work, and makes the communication more palpable.
In 2014, she published LOOK UP! Musings on the Nature of Mindfulness, a collection of essays, poems and original photography. Evidence of Flossing: What We Leave Behind is her second book.
Jen is the owner of Three Chairs Publishing and Words by Jen, a graphic design and creative services company founded in 1993, based in Branford, Connecticut. She is a member of the Arts Council of Greater New Haven, the Branford Arts and Cultural Alliance, the Connecticut Poetry Society, Guilford Arts Center, the Guilford Poets Guild, and the Independent Book Publishers Association.
Installations of her poetry were featured in Inauguration Nation an exhibition at Kehler Liddell Gallery in New Haven (2017), and Shuffle & Shake at the Arts Council of Greater New Haven (2016). Her writing has been published by The Aurorean, Six Sentences, the Story Circle Network, WOW! Women on Writing, and The Perch, a publication by the Yale Program for Recovery and Community Health.
You can read more of her writing on her blog Random Acts of Writing, http://www.randomactsofwriting.net
Jennifer can also be found online at:
Website: https://3chairspublishing.com/
Blog: https://randomactsofwriting.wordpress.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/threechairspub
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ThreeChairsPub
----------Upcoming WOW! Women on Writing Blog Tour Dates
Friday, December 15th @ Lisa Haselton's Reviews & Interviews
Jennifer Payne is interviewed by Lisa Haselton; find out more about Jennifer's latest poetry book Evidence of Flossing: What We Leave Behind.
http://lisahaseltonsreviewsandinterviews.blogspot.com/
Monday, December 18th @ Elaine Drennon Little
Fellow author Elaine Drennon Little reviews Evidence of Flossing: What We Leave Behind by Jennifer A. Payne.
https://elainedrennonlittle.wordpress.com/
Monday, December 18th @ The Writer Site
Luanne Castle reviews Evidence of Flossing: What We Leave Behind by Jennifer Payne. Don't miss Luanne's insight into this beautiful poetry book.
https://writersite.org/
Tuesday, December 19th @ Life is Full of Sweet Spots
Mary O'Connor reviews Jennifer Payne's latest poetry book Evidence of Flossing: What We Leave Behind. Don't miss this opportunity to learn more about this lovely book!
https://mary-oconnor.com/
Wednesday, December 20th @ Depth of A Woman
Stop by Depth of A Woman to read Joss Burnell's review of Jennifer A. Payne's Poetry Book Evidence of Flossing: What We Leave Behind.
https://authorjossburnel.com/
Thursday, December 21st @ Spirituality Without Borders
Jennifer Payne and her lovely poetry book Evidence of Flossing: What We Leave Behind is the topic today at Spirituality Without Borders. Read Rita's review of this lovely book and find out more about the lovely author behind it!
www.spiritualitywithoutborders.wordpress.com
Friday, December 22nd @ Writing on the Rim
Stop by Writing on the Rim and hear from Juliana Lightle about her thoughts after reading Evidence of Flossing: What We Leave Behind by Jennifer A. Payne. Don't miss this insightful review!
https://julianalightle.com/
Photo Credits:
Book Cover, Evidence of Flossing: What We Leave Behind (Flosser No. 007-1214 - Diner, Connecticut, December 2014, by Jen Payne)
Flosser No. 064-0616 - Flosser and Bone, Connecticut Parking Lot; June 2016, by Jen Payne
Author photo by Christine Chiocchio (Branford, CT)
Hi Crystal! Thank you so much for this important review of Evidence of Flossing. You are SO RIGHT, that different readers will find different meanings in this book. Like the flossers themselves, so many ways to interpret meaning and relevance. Thank you for taking the time to read and find your own path through the book! xoxo
ReplyDeleteNice sharing! Glad to read your post!
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