Every Wound Has A Rhythm

by James Bertolino

Alfredo M. Arreguin, Artist Some of Jim Bertolino's poems have been inspired by art objects, and some of my paintings by poetry. I feel that Jim?s poems and my art come from the same the quest for beauty in all of nature's manifestations?a leaf, a frog, the ocean waves, a simple gesture. This pursuit is what comes to bridge the concerns of all writers and painters. I feel connected to Jim?s poems, inside them, just as I enter my paintings, lose myself inside them, and emerge renewed.

80 pages, Paperback

First published July 20, 2012

Reviews

[Brent · Rating 5 out of 5]

James Bertolino's poems live up to the claim of the title. They're full of wounds of all varieties and we follow him along, listening to each one's rhythm. Some are sharp and close up, and others distant and muted, but all compelling and easy to listen to. They have the feeling of stories told by a first hand observer, but the perspective slants slightly off, making the reader wonder about the telling and where it comes from. But what do we need to know about the teller? As he points out in his poem, "Mortality,"

"Like any emotionally engaging story/ we find it irresistable."