100 Shadows

It has taken me sixty years to write these 100 five-line poems. Each is a slice of personal experience out of which has come meaning worthy of contemplation. I call these meditations, and though each is small, they expand upon reflection. One may read the book in thirty minutes, or one when the need arises. I have been influenced, in making these, by a lifetime of studying Japanese and Chinese forms, specifically haiku and koan. At the heart of the book lies Ursula K. Le Guin's translation of Lao Tzu's "I Ching," which I have owned for more than 20 years. From her I learned how to encapsulate experience so that it echoes. From the master of I Ching I learned how to compress experience into simple form.

Website: http: //www.charlesbechtel.com Born: Spring Lake, North Carolina, April, 1953, fourth day, five minutes past midnight (thus late for my parents' anniversary, which set a behavioral standard for all such future events.) Educated: A long while back, when colleges offered to improve human beings attending their classes, not merely dedicate themselves to making a person employable. Ahh, the good old days. Undergraduate degree: English. Master degree: English. Marriage: To Manuela, the finest woman on Earth, by the accounts of many more than myself. Two daughters: Elizabeth (Baby Beth) and Manuela (Meme), who each in turn delivered into my life some ladies of inestimable worth: Sky (b. 2003) Lucy (b. 2007) and Mia (b. 2008.) Though I gave to each huge chunks of my heart, doing so increased heart size. Work History: Let's say I worked. What I do for fun: Everything. If it is not fun, I quickly stop doing it. (see Work, above) Writing Philosophy: Make sense by appealing to the senses. Writing Experience: a dozen books still in print, a few no longer. Primarily a novelist. "100 Shadows" is my 2nd book of poetry.