Storyteller in Times Square
Storyteller in Times Square opens with a visit to New York and the ruins of the World Trade Center. Thus begins a poetry collection that reflects in subtle and surprising ways the post World War II history of the United States. Without being either “political” or “ideological,” the poet employs concise and often disciplined forms of language to touch upon deeper matters of destiny and feeling. Our lives, our deeds, our ideas—all of these have consequences for how we treat our land and each other. The moments of lyricism and humor help us to keep our balance. And the perspective is important, for these poems are about paying attention to reality. Can we pay attention to the voices of history submerged in our wake, swirling behind us? Perhaps that question in essence is what these poems ask of us.
Caryl Johnston
Caryl Johnston was born in 1947 in Birmingham, Alabama. She now lives in Philadelphia. A collection of poems on biblical themes Instead of Eyes was published by her in 1979, through Hawthorne Press, Lenox, MA. One poem from this collection, Isaac’s Age, appeared in The Literary Review (New Jersey).
Another self-published collection, Indulge Me Once, is available through Lulu.com. Three poems in that book, At the End of an Age, The Norns, and the concluding poem, The Banquet, were added to this collection. At the End of an Age was published in the July, 2022 issue of Chronicles.
Caryl is also the author of Consecrated Venom: The Serpent and the Tree of Knowledge (Floris Books, Edinburgh, 2000). Her book about Birmingham in the civil rights era, and the themes of race, slavery, civil rights, and religion as reflected in her family over five generations, is called Stewards of History: Land and Time in the Story of a Southern Family. It has been published by Abbeville Institute Press and is available on Amazon.
