The Lesser Light

These are the first 500 of a larger in-progress collection of poems related to the moon. They were inspired by the woodblock print series, 100 Views of the Moon by the 19th century Japanese artist, Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, though the poems do not directly correspond to the prints. Rather, the prints were a jumping-off point. The poems represent the author's personal take on the moon or what, in his environment or psyche, brings the moon to mind or into view. They were triggered by thoughts, fantasies, dreams, science, everyday occurrences, historical incidents, folklore, etc. While the connections to the moon are not always obvious and may even seem baffling, they may yet crystallize for the reader who is patient and reflective ... or maybe not.

Philip Wexler, originally from Brooklyn, New York, is a long-time resident of Bethesda, Maryland. He has had close to 200 poems published in magazines and privately dabbles in short fiction. His book-length poetry collections include The Sad Parade (prose poems) and The Burning Moustache (both from Adelaide Books), The Lesser Light (Finishing Line Press), and I Would be the Purple (Kelsay Books). He has organized several monthly spoken word series in the Washington, DC area, most recently Words out Loud, remotely since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic but with the hope of an eventual return to in-person events.Phil's formal education includes the unlikely combination of undergraduate degrees in Math and English and a Master's in Library Science. Most of Phil's professional career has been with the U.S. federal government, specifically at the Toxicology and Environmental Health Information Program of the National Library of Medicine, part of the National Institutes of Health, from which he is now retired. He has written and edited many technical works bearing on toxicological sciences. He served as Editor-in-Chief of Elsevier's Information Resources in Toxicology, now in its 5th edition and has the same role in the 4th edition of its Encyclopedia of Toxicology, currently in progress, and the ongoing series, History of Toxicology and Environmental Health. He is also an editor of CRC Press' Chemicals, Environment, Health: A Global Management Perspective and the Taylor and Francis journal, Global Security: Health, Science and Policy. A long-time member of the U.S. Society of Toxicology, Phil is a recipient of its Public Communications Award and serves as a Trustee for the Toxicology Education Foundation.In addition to literary (including simply reading) and technical writing pursuits, Phil is passionate about the arts, both in general and as a non-commercial mosaic artist, and frequents museums and galleries. He is also keen on music, particularly opera and Broadway musicals, and theatre. He has explored many other hobbies in the past which, if time were unlimited, he would still be engaged in. Among them were worldwide bicycle touring, hiking, fencing, bread-baking, woodworking, etc. Although his involvement in outdoor gardening has somewhat diminished, he still avidly tends to his houseplants, largely cacti and succulents, which thrive in a sunroom with southeastern exposure.Phil relies heavily on The Washington Post, Harper's, and The Atlantic to keep him apprised of national and world news and commentary. He is increasingly concerned about political upheavals at home and abroad and the declining state of the global environment but tries to be hopeful about both. He is married to Nancy and helplessly dotes on their dog, Gigi. His son, Jake, and wife, Amanda, live nearby.