In the Fullness of Time: Poems - Softcover

Sarreal, Nadine R.

9789711004682: In the Fullness of Time: Poems

Softcover

ISBN 10: 9711004682 ISBN 13: 9789711004682

Publisher: Cellar Book Shop, 1991

The poetry of Nadine Rodriguez-Sarreal was, for me back in 1974, a revelation. At that time I was teaching English at Trinity College of Quezon City in the Philippines. For years as an English professor I had been reading the poetry of my students and sometimes it seemed rather skilled, particularly considering the age level of the one who wrote it. But Nadine's poetry was of a different order, in a very different class all by itself. When Nadine's mother, then editor (now director) of New Day Publishers, asked me to read and evaluate the poetry, I stifled a yawn, agreed, then put it aside for a rainy day. In due time I began to thumb through the manuscript prepared to be bored. Never was I so wrong. Here were the poems I had long been searching for in order to stimulate my students' interest in poetry. First they are concerned with such subjects as feeling alienated, difficulty in adjusting to new situation and people, falling in love, and later falling out of love, all so true to the teenager's life. More important they are crisp, concise, without a single unnecessary word, and the imagery is both boldly original and relevant. Since then these brilliant poems have never failed to impress my students whether I was teaching in the Philippines, Canada, the People's Republic of China, or now in South Korea. In many cases they have sown the seeds for a lifetime appreciation of the poetic art. No other poet, not even one of the literary giants, has done this so well. To Nadine my students and I will be forever grateful. -Howard S. Collins (Seoul International School, Seoul Korea, January 1991)

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