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Marti | About the Novel Marti Lumbard Johnson is a 35-year-old schoolteacher from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, who – after his father committed suicide twenty years ago – changed his name from Martin to Marti because he did not want to bear the name of a man who he believed was a coward, his father. Yet Marti has spent much of his life subscribing to lessons and views instilled in him by his father, one of which is his questioning the existence of God. When his co-worker of nearly four years, Leslie Mitchell, turned best friend, and consequently, the woman with whom he falls in love, but who has never expressed any romantic notions toward him, comes back from summer vacation a Christian, Marti is forced to confront his own spirituality. However, he first finds distraction in the lovely Sasha, a beautiful woman who is ten years his junior.
Marti
is the story of divorce and estrangement and forgiveness and most
especially, love, the need and desire for love—the love of a good woman,
love of family, and the love of God. |
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Wandering Places | About the Poetry I think this book is inspired a great deal by the works of the poets and writers, such as Keats, Angelou, Hughes, Wheatley, Poe, Milton, Eliot, Whitman, Marlowe, Dante, who I’d read during both my undergraduate and graduate studies, majoring in English. An English background coupled with my life experiences and a God-given talent to take words and tell a story through verse and prose resulted in the creation of Wandering Places. There is a pun on the word “wandering.” After reading the book, you’ll find that I’ve written poems not only about physical motion (i.e., walking, drifting, floating, traveling), but also poems about how the mind “wonders” about [or attempts to resolve questions about] or reflects on all sorts of things like love, death, childhood experiences, or life experiences in general. What is life if not a journey: physical, mental, and spiritual? To reflect my moods of inspiration, this collection of poetry is arranged into five thematic sections: Strolling Thu Wonderland, Black-Eyed Peas & Collard Greens, The Art of Life, Chocolate Shakespeare, and That's Amore. Sometimes I was inspired by my African-American roots and Southern upbringing. Other times I heard Keats or some other poet of the past whispering in my ear. Then, there’s the plain ole love for writing, and most times that was enough to inspire a line or two or twenty. Preview this Book | Purchase Copy from: Lulu | Amazon |