The Myth of Water: Poems from the Life of Helen Keller

"These poems are meticulous, lyrical, edifying. Midway through this collection the reader will begin to see the world through Keller’s eyes, not the darkness but the everlasting light.”—Randall Horton, author of Hook: A Memoir and Pitch Dark Anarchy

We need poetry now, more than ever.

My exploration of Alabama-born Helen Keller has taught me the power of developing an intimate relationship with a figure from history. I read biographies and other accounts of her life, but her own writing -- her journal of the six months immediately following Anne Sullivan Macy's death and the letters she sent back to the USA after visiting the devastation in Japan following the atomic bombs -- led me to know her heart and to imagine the woman she was. I hope these poems give a sketch of who Helen Keller became, and open a window into the heart she gave to the world. Love and compassion for others motivated her above all else.

Upcoming Events for Jeanie

Public Reading, Alabama School of Fine Arts, 1800 Rev. Abraham Wood Blvd, Birmingham, 7 p.m., http://www.asfa.k12.al.us/apps/news/show_news.jsp?REC_ID=423681&id=0
Annual Helen Keller Lecture featuring the choreography of Adria Feralli based on poems from The Myth of Water, Nov. 14, 10 a.m. Troy University Campus, Troy, Alabama.
Celebration of Recently Published Books, Spalding University at the Brown Hotel, November 16, 6 p.m. www.spalding.edu/MFA
The Stone Market, Gadsden, AL, March 16, 2017, 5:30 -7:30 p.m., sponsored by the Gadsden Public Library. Details to follow
Alabama Writers Symposium, April 21-22, 2017 Monroeville, AL, Schedule TBA, www.ascc.edu
Alabama Book Festival, April 22, Montgomery's Historic Old Alabama Town, Schedule TBA, www.alabamabookfestival.org
TO PLAN AN EVENT WITH JEANIE: jeaniethompson@bellsouth.net

Find Jeanie's previous poetry collections.

2009, The Seasons Bear Us (http://rivercitypublishing.com/?s=The+Seasons+Bear+Us)
2000, White for Harvest: New and Selected Poems (www.rivercitypublishing.com)
1995, Witness (Black Belt Press) To Order: jeaniethompson@bellsouth.net
1990, Litany for a Vanishing Landscape, with photography by Wayne Sides (Hiram-Douglass Trust, privately printed) To Order: jeaniethompson@bellsouth.net
1985, How To Enter the River (Holy Cow! Press) To Order: jeaniethompson@bellsouth.net
1980, Lotus and Psalm (Baltic Avenue Press) To Order: jeaniethompson@bellsouth.net

The Myth of Water: Poems from the Life of Helen Keller

Reviews

Learn more about this historical persona poem project, read reviews and sample poems.

Press Kit for The Myth of Water


University of Alabama Press, 2016; $19.99.