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Rose Fever: Poems by Barbara Daniels published by WordTech Press in 2008. ISBN 978-1934999042, 108 pages, $17.00 Barbara Daniels’ poems in Rose Fever are ones of spiritual yearning, confronting the darkness of the world, seeking—and sometimes finding—the light. Daniels’ dense lines, rich with music and startling images, nourish the soul as well as the mind. Sample Poems by Babara Daniels “Barbara Daniels’ Rose Fever begins with poems about a life constrained and a life seized, which introduce a motif of spunk and survival that extends through the book. But what most distinguishes these fine poems is language that is as precise as it is sensuous. And behind it is a keen, guiding intelligence, and an ability to affirm even amidst the chaotic and the fraught. In the title poem, her feverish speaker says, ‘Wetness shines there,’ referring to the tide that washes up near her feet. Disparities don’t bother Daniels. Instead, she makes a poetry of them.” —Stephen Dunn “These poems are built on the muscles of life and lucid language, on an intimate knowledge of both grief and great joy, and Daniels has seamlessly blended these indelible visions with a mastery of poetic craft. From the sweet, sober humor of ‘This Is a Practice Planet’ to the wrenching love poem, ‘David,’ her precision and voice break my heart. There is nothing to do but to read these poems again and again and to continue to draw from their strength. Rose Fever is a book to learn and live from.” —Renée Ashley “The complex intelligence of Rose Fever is signaled by the title: ‘rose,’ scented by the romantic and the natural, and ‘fever,’ with connotations of avidity and illness. The wonder of Rose Fever is that clarity is never sacrificed to complexity. Many of these fierce poems stare point blank into the visage of pain, loss, and disfigurement; others manifest a wild imagination and wry humor. An amazing number do both. Barbara Daniels’ poems are consummately skillful, meticulously precise, and anything-but-plain gorgeous.” —Natasha Sajé “The poems of Barbara Daniels present us with an unusually bracing combination of wit and rue. Their speaker is always smart and level headed, and she bravely stares back at loss—doing so without at the same time succumbing to loss of faith. Through honest self-appraisal and a sure command of craft, she manages to delight and instruct us at once. This is no easy task.” —David Wojahn Cherry Grove Collections |
In January Barb is a staff member at the Winter Poetry and Prose Getaway in Cape May. It would be great to see you there.
Barb's poems have appeared in literary magazines published by thirty-three colleges and universities as well as by dozens of journals published in thirty states. She has published more than 250 poems. She has also given many poetry readings and participated as a staff member in writing conferences and workshops.
You can find her poems in The Cortland Review, Jerseyworks, Tattoo Highway, Parva Sed Apta, and Pif. You may also want to look at her poems on the University of Pennsylvania's Writers' House website, the Art in the Air website, and Frigg magazine’s archive.
Barb was awarded Individual Artist Fellowships by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts in 2005 and 1998.
Barb earned an MFA in writing from Vermont College in 1999. She also has a master’s degree in English and American literature from New York University. She taught at Camden County College from 1976 until 2008.
Click here for an article about Barb in New Jersey’s Courier Post.
Barb wrote two academic books, Persuasive Writing and English Grammar (published by HarperCollins) with her husband David Daniels. More than 53,000 copies of English Grammar have been sold. You can find it in bookstores or at amazon.com and other online book sources. You might be able to find a used copy of Persuasive Writing. "Style" is one of the chapters from Persuasive Writing.
Barb's poetry chapbook, The Woman Who Tries to Believe, won the Quentin R. Howard Prize and was published by Wind Publications in Lexington, Kentucky. If you want to buy it, email Barb, and she'll sell you one.
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