Journey In Flagrante

This book selects and organizes a lifetime of poetry by noted poet Patricia Cherin, of the Long Beach school of poetry. Poems include:Interior balloonTo keep the spirits upI inflate myself at breakfastwheeling in the helium tankwith the morning paperI blow myself upto speak on registerbreathing within breathpurposeful pantslittle mantras willing cellsto carry onall day I chasethe red ballooninside medear scarlet orbslowly leakingDante's woodsI've been walking inDante's dark woods latelythey are Hester Prynne's woods tooand Red Riding Hood'sthe tall trees make the going throughthe seeing ahead or aroundor even behind difficultthe foliate heaven is immediateand obscurant and presses downas the verdant mulchy floor bears upit is not however claustrophobicbut oddly comfortingif not exactly liberatoryit is wonderfully and historicallyrich with precedent, dearly familiar

Patricia Cherin Patricia Cherin has taught Creative Writing Poetry at California State University Long Beach and currently coordinates the Humanities M.A. (HUX) program at California State University Dominguez Hills, where she has also served as Chair of Women's Studies and Writing Lab Director. Her work has appeared in over 100 publications.