Customer Reviews:

• "I just finished reading Herbal Hodgepodge and it is absolutely divine! I've now found my new ultimate favorite poem, "Wrinkle." It is such an emotionally overpowering poem, both well written and the content speaks of things I can relate. It is surely a treasure." - Elizabeth DiBenedetto

•     "Marie Summer's Herbal Hodgepodge is her most professional chapbook to date with extensive and admirable acknowledgements of her publishing achievements with many of the poems therein. The book is a showcase for an array of her most recent poetry, from free verse to more structured forms such as etheree and triolet. I particularly enjoy Marie's clever use of imagery as when she likens herself to an angel falling in "Descent" with these words: "running my fingers through the clouds" or in this line from "Fall Into Poetry" when she writes: ". . . poetry falls. . . like dying leaves spinning in the sunset. . . "
    Summers is a natural with short forms like haiku or cinquain, and her ability to equate aspects of nature to ordinary moments or reflections on life is demonstrated in her longer poems as well. Take, for example, from "Moon Tears," this line: "I soak the last bit of darkness in a peaceful exit of moon tears" or this example of a beautiful simile from "Standing Still" - "Anchored silence surges through my very essence like phantom chills caress my limbs on a foggy night of stars."
    Some of my other most favorite poems in this book are "A July Offering," "Inking Dawn," "Farewell To Seasons Past," "Kentucky Sunrise," "Molting Season," and the poignant "Pieces of You." Also I love the delightful picture poems on page 18. "Luna" is written in the shape of a quarter moon and the lines of "Starlight" form a star! I have been reading Marie's poetry for five years now and seen her writing mature as she has found her niche in Asian verse and has evolved into the writer she is today of the lovely poems in her newest chapbook Herbal Hodgepodge." - Andrea Dietrich/ Poetry Editor SP Quill

• "Not many poets can master diverse styles of poetry, and  I'm always humbled to discover one who can.  Marie Summers is such a poet.  As the multi-published recipient of many awards, aspiring poets would do well to read her work.  Within this chapbook alone readers will find prime examples of triolet, paradelle, cinquain, sonnet, tetractys, sonnet, rondeau, pantoum, free verse, and acrostic.

The first poem, "January," tackles the bane of every poet and writer's existence, a problem beautifully expressed in free verse:
      writer's block...

      Winter has left me cold,
      cracked and dry
      with no moisture for words.

      My paper crumbles
      like the last Autumn leaf.
      Another year, another poem
      slipped through my fingers.

      ...silently as a whisper.

"To the Poet Departed" is dedicated to Pranit Bhasin, a poet whose 'gentle pen strokes of peace' were lost too soon:
      Even in your last moments,
           spangles of sunlight danced
      upon the graying ocean waves –
           ...and still she weeps.

In "Standing Still" Ms. Summers contemplates the timeless essence of trees, as in this excerpt:
      With a moss-fringed trunk
      and forest-soft leaves,
      I embrace the graying wind
      upon my hardened skin
      like a second-rate lover
      among the mighty oaks.

And in the cinquain, "Long Shadows," the poet says much in few lines:
      Maples
      in the morning
      sunlight cast long shadows
      upon the snow like a roadmap
      of limbs.

To paraphrase the witty pantoum, "Overdosed on Poetry," Marie Summers offers up a treat to readers in her latest chapbook.  She 'nibbles on stanzas for a meal and washes it down with free verse.'  Regardless of topic or poetic style, Summers zeroes in on the essence of life and communicates with readers.  If you enjoy poetry, whether traditional, formal, or free verse, this chapbook is a bargain at any price." - Midwest Book Review

• "I was excited to learn that Marie had finally taken some time for herself out of her busy schedule to produce her latest chapbook, Herbal Hodgepodge. The book is a delightful mix of free verse, shape, and formal poetry. In the poem, "Nature," she declares:
      You, Nature, are the kiss of inspiration
      Within each poet, artist, musician.

This sentiment has certainly been true for me. It seems that fewer and fewer poets these days really get out into the natural world to appreciate and write about Earth’s bounty. Marie is one of those special few who do.

I could by the third stanza that "To The Poet Departed" was a tribute to Pranit Bhasin. Ms. Summers was privileged to know him well while he walked this Earth. I came to know him only through his poetry, in the wonderful collection of his works compiled by Shadow Poetry. I believe it is true that if one reads enough of a poet’s works, one comes to know the writer’s spirit intimately. Mr. Bhasin is a kindred spirit, for the sea has sung to him. Marie writes that
      Even in your last moments,
      spangles of sunlight danced
      upon the graying ocean waves—
      …and still she weeps.

Thus the unbroken chain of solidarity that links living poets to poets passed on continues.

On pages 12 and 13, I encountered a poetic form new to me, the double reversed etheree. Her impassioned words lend themselves exquisitely to the aesthetic shape of these poems. In the center of the book there are tributes to famous poems, each tribute poured into a triolet. Ms. Summer’s pantoums are especially nice. Here is a snippet from "Seasonal Whispers:"
      Through the eyes of a little girl
      with paintbrushes and pastels,
      among brush strokes colors swirl,
      seasonal whispers and farewells.

Another of my favorite Pantoums is "Overdosed On Poetry." This is a poem that anyone who has ever served as a poetry editor, or taken a poetry class, can appreciate. Like eating too many holiday chocolates, too many formal poems at once can overwhelm the appetite:
      I’m overdosed on poetry.
      Too much rhyme has made me sick.
      There is no use reviving me.
      The ink has become too thick.

It takes a particularly deft touch and intuitive understanding of how to tap into strong universal sentiments to pull off free verse successfully. Marie has that touch. In "Molting Season," she writes:
      It’s molting season
      and I, too
      must shed
      this skin.

This is a wonderful metaphor for personal change and renewal. Marie’s book is a delightful reminder that Shadow Poetry was launched by a great lover—and writer, of poetry. I urge everyone to support the poet in Marie Summers that is so often buried under the ten thousand daily miniscule tasks of running Shadow Poetry for us all, by taking the time out to read this very special book." - Review by CarrieAnn Thunell