Mad Love

Terry Phelan’s poetry has always reminded me of pure water: clear, fluid, feminine, and filled with light. In simple but elevated language, her poems illuminate the difficulties of being a daughter, being a mother, being a wife, being a human, and being a woman. She follows her passions with intelligence, humor, and startling attention to detail. She comes from the heartland and so her poems are filled with directness and heart. She raised a family in California and so her poems are filled with light and landscape. She currently moves between Northern Nevada and New England and so her poems are smart and tough. In her third book, MAD LOVE, she continues to chronicle her challenges and more, but this time there is a surprise ending. She finds love and a second chance. She triumphs and we, the readers, celebrate her triumphs with her, because she has been so open, honest, and generous about sharing her journey with us. Terry Phelan is an inspiring and inspired poet and Mad Love is a cure for anyone who has given up on the possibility of love.–Dell Lemmon

Poetry.