ashes and orchids illuminated poems

Ashes and Orchids by Howard Berelson is an aptly titled collection of prose, poems and illustra-tions in which the narrator wanders through sumptuous detail of memory—both heart- wrenching and heart-warming. In Part I, Ashes, the narrator searches for understanding of a father once dis-tant and indifferent, now gone— a fireman father recalled as "most at home in fire." These are stories that haunt. What reader could forget the image of a son shoveling dirt onto the father's grave "at a feverish pace," the child drawing a picture of a family enveloped in an exaggerated embrace to "keep us from being taken away." And still there is healing—a gentle shoeshine man who spoke with "whispers and whistles," the "Pied Piper of a replacement father." And then in Part II, Orchids, warmth. A woman, love, gratitude and even forgiveness. Ashes and Orchids is a journey painted with skill and penned with truth, and tenderness, a read that will smolder long after you close the cover. - Jane Ebihara, Author of This Edge of Rain Through a combination of lyrical prose, poetry and digital images, Howard Berelson explores his relationship to a difficult father, his youth and his extended family. Berelson's mastery of poetic description escorts readers through his tumultuous boyhood. I was keenly aware of the vulnerable boy inside the man who begins to recount his days growing up with his fire-fighter father, a tower of strength, who was also neglectful and distant towards his wife and children. Berelson tenderly explores his father's origins, illness and his grandparents who were born in Europe of Jewish ancestry. The language, the images are rich and compelling. The digital images that ac-company many of the pieces are extraordinary collages that capture the central characters, conflicts and themes of this mesmerizing collection. Berelson's exploration into his relationships and family history speak to all of us on the sometimes painful journey to understand who we are, and the distance we have come, to embrace the people we love. - Ellen June Wright is an English-born poet, currently living in New Jersey. She has consulted on guides for three PBS poetry series. Her work was selected as The Missouri Review's Poem of the Week in June 2021, and she recently received four 2021 Pushcart Prize nominations. Within the pages of ashes and orchids visual artist and poet Howard Berelson ushers us through his vividly sensate world of life and loss salved by the lived experience and memories of love. We find the unwinding of a skein of childhood perceptions and fears with hope and adult psychological lament tempered by a deep understanding of generational family dynamics. Within the threads of the artist's story we also find ourselves in our ability to find redemption through love. - Patricia Vadine, LCSW, Psychoanalyst, Psychotherapist. "Howard Berelson's Ashes and Orchids, Illuminated Poems is an amazing book full of love, longing and loss. It is full of memories of the people the poet has loved, and of the ones who never loved him. His portrait of his absent father is powerful and moving. The portrait he draws of his wife Suzanne and the life they have together is so tender and loving we are left gasping. The art that accompanies the poems illuminates them in ways that make them even more resonant and alive than they already are. What a pleasure it is to read this book and to absorb the layers of the art that cast a new light on the poems. This is a book I guarantee you'll treasure". – Maria Gillan. Professor Emerita of English and creative writing at Binghamton SUNY. Founder/ Director, the Poetry Center, Paterson. NJ. Editor, Paterson Literary Review.