A Close Circle of Strangers

Poems for a Lonely Planet

**In this fresh, quirky collection of poetic monologues, Parker documents the poignancy of being human, both in solitude and in solidarity with others. Through these poems, Parker seeks to distill individual cries for connection or understanding into something truly universal, and to do so in a style that is accessible to readers from all walks of life. Stylistically eclectic, Parker makes use of free verse as well as more structured forms as she explores the emotional gamut from frenzied first love, to jaded misanthropy. Her poems are slices of the lives of diverse narrators, referencing here the anxious fawning of a young bride or a would-be groom and there, the wistful longing of a widowed spouse or an abandoned friend. Elsewhere, while one new parent ponders the miracle of his newborn son, another wonders at the grace that forges the bond between adoptive parents and their children, and still another mother wonders how to protect her increasingly independent child.  Through these varied and moving vignettes, Parker sheds light on the common and uncommon experiences that define and bind us all as humans. In response, readers are describing this emerging poet as an insightful and clever "wordsmith" with a "divine gift" for capturing the feelings of her articulate character/narrators with lucidity, humor, and warmth. **