Some Have Gone and Some Remain

by Robin Stratton

“In Some Have Gone and Some Remain, Robin Stratton takes the reader on a guided tour of her path from childhood to adulthood, with all its discoveries and insecurities, its moments of small tragedies and triumphs. She describes the stops along the way with honesty and a fine eye for detail. And with particular skill she evokes the innocence, excitement and vulnerability of a young girl learning how to navigate the world. She also shines a revealing but gentle light on her parents and siblings, balancing the difficult moments with flashes of the good-natured, goofy humor that helps every healthy family persevere and is utterly absent in unhealthy ones. An ambitious and well-executed collection.” ~ Charles Coe, All Sins Poems for my Parents, and Memento Mori “As I read Robin Stratton’s latest collection, Some Have Gone and Some Remain, I had the most heart-breaking feeling of déjà I’d been to the sleepovers down in the rec rooms; I had those stuffed animals—the snake, the monkey, the clown. Stratton’s collection of poetry and prose spans four decades, a continent, the globe, and yet stays true to the voice that jokingly claims, ‘every single story about me is fascinating.’ And we are fascinated, not only by this young girl whose mother likened her to a hurricane, but also by the deep levels of trauma that accompany her life as she observes, ‘It’s funny what silly things/trigger emotions that go with grief.’ Sexual curiosity, shame, and violence are juxtaposed with Dostoyevsky and Flashdance sweatshirts. Some Have Gone and Some Remain is a study in loss—parents, friends, pets—played to the tune of Orleans’ ‘Dance with Me.’ I loved this book for its emotional clarity, and I found myself rooting for Stratton as she stepped―sometimes boldly, sometimes reluctantly―into each new facet of growing up, and discovered that she turned out to be the person she always wanted to be.” ~ Jennifer Martelli, author of The Uncanny Valley and My Tarantella “In Some Have Gone and Some Remain, Robin Stratton takes us on a retrospective, a slideshow of love, loss, nostalgia and hope. Simmering within these poems and essays is a sweet, simple and honest invitation to witness the many interludes that make up one human life.” ~ Nancy Stohlman, author of Madam Velvet’s Cabaret of Oddities “In Some Have Gone and Some Remain, Robin Stratton takes us on a journey of life and all its stages. We meet three versions of the the young woman, wide-eyed and facing the world with palms open, the adult daughter, who’s forced to part with her parents, her dog, her boyfriend, and eventually her life in Boston. Finally, her losses are lessened by the love of an intellectual and spiritual equal. Like her new boyfriend, the paleoanthropologist, Stratton has mined her past for its brightest gems and has brought them with her on this journey across the globe. The reader is lucky to go along for the ride.” ~ Amye Archer, author of Fat Girl, Skinny

161 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 15, 2019

About the author

Robin Stratton lives and writes in the Boston area. Her writing has received four Pushcart Prize nominations, and her novel On Air was a National Indie Excellence Book Award finalist. She is acquisitions editor for Big Table Publishing Company, senior editor of Boston Literary Magazine, and director of the Newton Writing and Publishing Center.

Reviews

[Charlotte Digregorio · Rating 5 out of 5]

The measure of evaluating whether autobiographical poems and essays are entertaining and thoughtful is when you feel as if you’ve know the author all your life, despite never having met her. This is how readers will feel after reading Robin Stratton’s latest book, Some Have Gone and Some Remain: Autobiographical poems and essays.
One finds joy in reading Stratton’s relatable book in that she has lived a life of gratitude for all her experiences that have shaped her life, whether profoundly sad or happy ones. Stratton takes us from childhood through adulthood until the age of 60 with honesty, heartfelt insights, and simple wisdom at each juncture, and through skillful imagistic verse and prose. Her detail is simply-worded, yet elegant.

Stratton is a very thoughtful, astute writer, at peace with herself. She cherishes the experiences that have shaped her. This book is highly recommended for both reading enjoyment and for encouraging others to write about their own lives and experiences, influenced by her insights.

[Peter Saucier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Robin Stratton deploys poetry and vignettes to bring a deep and moving new style to memoir. Using carefully sculpted idioms and word phrases, Stratton conveys her spirit and experiences in succinct and moving pieces. The image of an intriguing life springs from every page.

I love the poignancy of many pieces. My Brother Asked on page 83, Last Night on page 84, and Form on page 90 are sharply thought provoking. At the end of one special short story, A Tumor Not A Cyst on page 6, you will want to track down the gynecologist and smack him. Meanwhile, the meaningful humor in such revealing pieces as The Summer of Lizzie Borden on pages 52-53, and Pulitzer on page 114, is delightful.

I discovered fascinating things about myself as I learned about Stratton’s life events. Everyone should read this book. Stratton writes about herself and somehow writes about you, too. “Some Have Gone and Some Remain” is unique and refreshing.

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Portrait of a Woman from Miss to Ma’am

Heartwarming and heartbreaking in the same moment, Robin Stratton’s SOME HAVE GONE AND SOME REMAIN is a fearless self-portrait.The writing is crisp and fluid. Well hewn imagery carries Stratton’s humor and passion for life. Gliding between poetry and prose, she recounts the joys and travails of childhood, coming of age, and adulthood. We revel in her love and elation. Feel her pain and loss as if it were our own. Stratton draws me into the space between words where I reflect on my own journey through like events. Her recollections are raw, fierce, and honest. This is a book that can only be written by someone who has accepted life’s trials and loves the woman she‘s grown to be. I really feel I know Robin Stratton after reading SOME HAVE GONE AND SOME REMAIN.

[Catherine Arra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let me tell you all the ways I loved Robin Stratton’s new hybrid collection of autobiographical poems and essays, Some Have Gone and Some Remain: the girl talk and nostalgia, the unabashed honesty in writing about loss, grief, sex, aging, cleansing, joy, and gratitude, her childhood stuffed animals, her sweet dog Colby, her ex-boyfriends who we’ve all met some time or other in our own lives. I love the way she says, come onto my story, let’s be friends, and you are from the clanking flagpole on the kindergarten playground through conversations with a mother gone to soul-shattering moments of letting go, acceptance, and finding love after menopause. Robin Stratton’s book is an ode to living awake and to sharing because “pain divided, hurts less.”

[Nancy Stohlman · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Some Have Gone and Some Remain, Robin Stratton takes us on a retrospective, a slideshow of love, loss, nostalgia and hope. Simmering within these poems and essays is a sweet, simple and honest invitation to witness the many interludes that make up one human life.

[Tina Barry · Rating 5 out of 5]

In clear, unadorned language Robin Stratton opens her life. There's a twinge of pain in each of these fearless, funny, vulnerable and ultimately uplifting pieces. A must-read.

[Elizabeth Wolf · Rating 5 out of 5]

The mix of poems and short essay was the perfect container for these stories told with wit and heart. It was fun to spy what has turned up in characters in other works.

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely little chapbook full of all the feels.