Ghost Matinee - by Cathryn Shea (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

In Ghost Matinee, Cathryn Shea's second full-length poetry collection, she delves into the haunting influence of memories that shape both the present and the future. Shea's poems weave together the personal, political, and global, revealing the buried and overlooked amid the ordinary. With a keen eye on the fleeting beauty of our world, Shea offers a profound meditation on time-where "the past is a frontier" of uncharted, subjective memories and "the future is a sanctuary" of hope and refuge. Rather than yearning for "the good old days," these poems look forward, even as the ghosts of the past cast shadows over the matinees of our lives. Ghost Matinee presents a deeply reflective exploration of how we carry the past while seeking solace and possibility in what lies ahead.

Review Quotes

Compelling, elegant, and linguistically dynamic, Ghost Matinee is filled with poems that perfectly balance emotion and intellect, painting intimate portraits of identity, loss, family, and nature. Shea showcases a true talent for imbuing small human details with authenticity and layered meanings. Each poem maps out the human heart in relation to that larger earth heart, in all their internal conflicts, with precision and grace.

-John Sibley Williams, award-winning author of The Drowning House