Searching for Cloves and Lilies: The Wine Edition

When Regine T. Rousseau asked her family and friends, “What is your favorite body part?” she was surprised by the answers she elicited. Some acquaintances could immediately give her an answer. Others preferred to remain coyly silent. Rousseau uses the wide variety of responses as inspiration for her poetry collection Searching for Cloves and Lilies. In the lines of her work, she introduces you to old lovers and new friends and honors the people who shaped her life, including her beloved mother and respected pastor. She shares the lessons a barber and hairstylist taught her about love and provides a touching ode to her father. Other poems ponder important moments in Rousseau’s life, including a devastating incident with her cousin and a shocking heartbreak.

Poetry isn’t the only passion in Rousseau’s life. The only thing she loves more than discovering amazing new wines is introducing friends to some of her favorites. In this edition, she pairs each poem with a cherished wine and explains why these concoctions can be fun and flirty or poignant and lingering. This unique collection lays out which wine to pair with heartache and which best represents the state of modern relationships.

Regine T. Rousseau is a proud Haitian American poet, author, sommelier, and businesswoman. She is the CEO of Shall We Wine, an event-planning and wine-demonstration company based in Chicago, Illinois.

She received her Level II certification from the International Sommelier Guild and an Executive Bourbon Steward from Stave and Thief Society.

Rousseau enjoys traveling, cooking, spending time with her beloved niece and nephew, and educating others in the art of wine tasting. For more information about her work, she invites you to visit RegineRousseau.com and ShallWeWine.com.