Something Familiar: Poems and Short Stories

When the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago asked Americans who say they don't read poetry why they don't, one of the main reasons they found is the perception that poetry is difficult and irrelevant. The appeal of Something Familiar is that these poems and stories are clear storytelling about characters you'll recognize, from life in smalltown America, the farm, to the strange conversations of otherworldly matters heard on the metropolitan public bus. Kat Ricker provides quick, deep and reverent glimpses into the lives of people both real and fanciful.

What would happen if a stranger revealed his deepest secrets to you? Would you see wolves in the Yukon, black walnuts in October, orbs from another world? Would you look into the eyes of a mermaid? Would you turn from the eyes of the law? Whatever happened, could you ever forget it? Slip into something magical, something comfortable, something familiar.

"Rooted in diverse, down-to-earth experiences, Kat's poetry and stories lift readers to the sky on the wings of her imagination." - William Marr, past president Illinois State Poetry Society (Autumn Window, Arbor Hill Press)

"If you are a writer, this is one of the top 10 books you should read in your lifetime. The writing style teaches you more than a book on writing ever could. Something Familiar awakens a new beauty in the everyday existence and contains the essence writers seek and few ever find. Kat Ricker has captured a magical connection between souls within a world of words." - Top 10 Amazon reviewer Rebecca Johnson, The Rebecca Review

"Kat Ricker has both eye and heart combined with the gift of hearing the unspoken story. At one moment, she magnifies what has been unnoticed, and the next she moves us to the far-reaching implications of the human heart. She reopens our eyes and hearts so we can "be whole once more." -Dr. William Boggs, professor, Slippery Rock University, poet (Greatest Hits, Pudding House Press)

"Take something familiar and be able to reveal its freshness, take something simple and be able to reveal its subtleties: this is what Kat Ricker does with words that evoke poignant and delicious images and emotions of the everyday and the unfamiliar." -Dr. Maria Pallotta-Chiarolli, Senior Lecturer and Writer, Deakin University, Australia

"Completely engaging. This is poetry for people of all backgrounds." -Blogcritics