Excerpt from Freedom of Vision

As we're redoubling our efforts in marketing the Freedom of Vision Prison Anthology, here's an excerpt from one of the pieces... Enjoy!

A part of me is gone now too
yet a part of her remains
in a holy mystery that is beyond my comprehension
as if two having become one
can no longer be divided
I sleep alone in our bed of dreams
watching her
barefoot in the backyard
shampooing her long auburn hair in the sunlight
with water from the garden hose
Two hawks fly circular patterns
over green fields near the coast
I cannot remember when I did not love her

—From Bereaved, by Gordon R. Grilz

Dick Shelton Interview on Jim Lehrer's NewsHour

Dick Shelton's Crossing the Yard is written so well and so convincingly. In addition, it is highly condemnatory about the failure of the American Prison System, so that it caught the attention of the Jim Lehrer News Hour. They came out; filmed a prison classroom session at the Rincon Unit of the Arizona Department of Corrections at Tucson, Arizona—where I used to teach prior to retirement, and then came to the University of Arizona’s New Poetry Center to interview Dick Shelton. I was right there for the ninety minute film session.

Here's the video from Jim Lehrer's NewsHour:

Prisoners Find a Voice Through Poetry


Here's a link to the transcript of the interview as well:
Poetry Program Gives Prisoners Unexpected Voice

Excerpt from Tornado Alley Fever

Tornado Alley Fever, the third installment in my series, is working its way toward completion. Here's a scene from a whitewater trip that our main character is on...


Nothing in Sixth Weather Squadron prepared me for this pell-mell rush down a wild river. Nothing in Army Combat Diving prepared me for the tornadic torrents of water. Swimming a half-mile in the surf off Coronado Island in California did nothing to prepare me for the Middle Fork.

Outwardly, Chris could not tell a thing. I am glad he could not hear my heart pounding or my lungs straining to capture more fresh air.

“You’ve logged in another five miles!” Chris yells. “Get ready for the last biggee on Day One: Pistol Creek Rapids. Ben calls it Russian Roulette—you don’t know which chamber is going to get you.”

Sufficiently forewarned, I began running the famous Pistol Creek Rapids with heightened awareness and a quick prayer. It doesn’t matter.

“Stay away from the inside!”

We accelerate into a lower S curve, Chris’ warning dissipating in the swirling waters. I jump into the oar to guard against striking a house boulder on my near left. I head straight into the three huge rocks looming in midstream on the right, but remain in the middle of the S curve. I crank the oar blade madly to the right for forty feet and then madly to the left, so I can ultimately sail parallel to the homicidal granite obstructions. I steer for the outside—as if I want to kill myself on those huge raft-killers—but at the last minute, the main current catches me and sharply sweeps me laterally left. Feeling like I might pass out, on a parallel course, I shoot past the Pistol Creek rocks going by my near right shoulder.

Swedenborg Links

As I am working on a collection of essays, many of which are influenced by Emanuel Swedenborg and his teachings, I thought it prudent to give you, my readers, some insight into his teachings. Here are some valuable links:

Emanuel Swedenborg on Wikipedia:
Biography of Emanuel Swedenborg

The New Church: General Church of the New Jerusalem:
A new Christianity based on the Old and New Testaments and the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg.

The Swedenborgian Church of North America:
A community of faith, based on the Bible, as illuminated by the spiritual teachings of Emanuel Swedenborg.

The Swedenborg Project:
A non-profit Christian organization, dedicated to effectively spreading the good news of Jesus Christ’s First and Second Comings to every corner of the world.

List of Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg:
A thorough listing and links to Swedenborg's writings.