The Little Book of Me

"Pat Lawson's poetry draws the reader in and holds the reader in thrall. She has an astonishing gift for language, and The Little Book of Me proves it. Her subjects run the gambit from cats and foreign travel to weeds and weddings. Along the way, we see outstanding imagery, original and appropriate word choices. Describing bugs flying around a light, she says 'small, green insects flitted and crisped.' Never is a poem obscure. Her work exudes accessibility. Whatever the topic, she captures its essence, The reader enters 'Grandmother's Kitchen,' watches as young children at a wedding reception 'take to the floor,' learns about her past boyfriends through writing that is evocative and fresh. This is a book to finish at one sitting, a compelling book. Not all is serious here. Just when you think you know where the poem is going, she tosses in a humorous curve, sardonic and otherwise. This is a brilliant collection in which Lawson has captured 'the big wide waters of the world," hers and ours.'"


-R. Nikolas Macioci, author of Why Dance? and Dark Guitar



"Put on your bib and dig in. Discover yourself and fill your belly with Patricia Lawson's The Little Book of Me. This impeccably-crafted, strongly-narrative collection focuses on ten facets of life and create a delightful, lavish table. Her work sizzles, resonates, permeates, sticks to your bones. Her poetry toasts you. It says, "Welcome to your place at the feast."


-Sandra Feen, Fragile Capacities: School Poems


"The Little Book of Me is not that little, full as it is with the astute observations, wit, poignancy, and insight of the me in its title. Patricia Lawson lets us spy on a child who stars in a life she has made up; she reminds us of the self-absorption of adolescence so 'bent on losing . . . innocence' that others become merely backgrounds in their picture. She pulls the blinds wide open on midlife and marriage when the bride, who had once 'momentarily taken over the game' becomes she who 'keels the pots' while the rest of the family watches the game. Inevitably, old age opens its 'unwelcome portal' through which none of us runs 'thin as a thistle.' But life is way more than its arc. There are travels with heavy-drinking friends, and cats who may become so numerous as to be a 'carpet of cat' moving across the back yard. From moments of intense pique to a snowy afternoon so silent that 'If God spoke, he would sound like Edward R. Murrow,' this collection is a trip I'm so glad I took. I think you will love it, too."


-Eve Ott, Album from the Silent Generation




"Wry, witty, and often laugh-out-loud funny, Pat Lawson thoroughly entertains in this journey through childhood, adolescence, marriage, adulthood, aging, gardening, travel abroad, neighborhood life, and cats-a narrative of life. Though readers may chuckle reading these poems, throughout is an underlying current of acute observation and wisdom, and The Little Book of Me, becomes the little book of we as readers find both the personal and the universal."


-Maryfrances Wagner, The Immigrants' New Camera