In The Philippines: What Everyone Needs to Know (R), Steven Rood, a long-time scholar of the region, provides concise overview of the nation's geography, history, culture, economy, politics, government, geopolitics, and prospects for the future. Arranged in a question-and-answer format, this book shares concise, nuanced analysis and helps readers find exactly what they seek to learn.
Drawing from six decades of experience as a classical guitarist, the poet weaves a symphony of emotions through his verses, capturing the intricacies of family life and connections with nature. The collection explores the challenge of expressing musical experiences through poetry, blending themes of grief and joy. Each poem showcases lyrical precision, vivid imagery, and diverse forms, creating a rich tapestry that reflects the tonalities of everyday existence.
Poems that navigate the complexities of human relationships, personal ethics, and religious tradition. Wind moves through this collection, opening the poems to the dying beauty of the natural world, to the weathers inside the psyche and without, and to the connections between a family and between the speaker his mentor, the great poet Jack Gilbert. The collection navigates the intimacies of human relationships with others, the challenges of working as a lawyer trying to maintain integrity as others fall prey to corporate greed, and the complexity of holding a Jewish identity while being awake to tradition's hold on the mind and its cost. Steven Rood offers a powerful account of how to be a human in dynamic relationships while also holding respect for the non-human beings that comprise most of the life on our planet. Rood employs structures and forms that directly relate to the content of the poems themselves. Spontaneous breaks and starts reflect the writer's turns of mind, offering readers insight into the meaning and measure of the work.