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Review: The Nineteen Steps Between Us

3/6/2016

Coming in March: The Nineteen Steps Between Us

By Gretchen Gales
@GGalesQuailBell
Image Courtesy of Darren C. Demaree and After the Pause Press
QuailBellMagazine.com

Review: The Nineteen Steps Between Us by Gretchen Gales

Every writer knows supporting small presses and upcoming writers is important, but sometimes we all need a little nudge towards some worthy talent. Darren C. Demarre's poem "What the Gun Eats" appeared here on Quail Bell early January, and if you were fan of that work, there's more coming from Demaree at the end of March when his poetry collection The Nineteen Steps Between Us will be released by After the Pause Press.

The cover artwork “Two Sets of Eyes in the Moonlight” by W. Jack Savage captures the divide between the heavens and earth perfectly as the illustrated man looks to the moon. The collection is divided the way the title implies with 19 sections titled by "step." Each of the poems consists of concise couplets that are easy to speed through, but is worth steadily pacing your reading the way to fully consume the journey from earth to understanding a world beyond us.

The opening poem "Step One: an Evaluation of My Physical Purpose" is a contemplation of understanding the balance between the physical body and the mind, a fascination of touch and movement. The lines "I choose to keep walking, / because I wager on my toes”

“Step Six: We Believe Differently” asserts that the speaker does not need a physical form to feel connected with another being. “Step Fourteen: The Space Is Not Empty” mentions a barrier “between us, this sticky / gelatin that is much more” in reference to bodies blocking the soul from doing something “other than anticipation” from what our destiny is as humans. Eventually, the book ends at the 19th step with a content and liberating conclusion.

Overall, Demaree’s collection of poetry perfectly captures the 3am philosophical thoughts we all ponder late at night. In addition to purchasing a book of gorgeous poetry, a portion of proceeds from every purchase of the book go towards the Ohio Alliance for Arts Education, so I highly encourage the investment. The book is scheduled to be released on March 28th.

#Real #Review #NineteenStepsBetweenUs #Poetry #PhysicalBodies #Earth #Heavens

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