Rudiments of Flight

Overview

Both revelatory and sensuous, these poems convey passion that trumps death, beauty that shines through shame, and love that is everlasting. Venturing to the edge of the known world and beyond—bearing unflinching witness to the terrors and ecstasies to be discovered there—this compilation is a kaleidoscopic intertwining of the worlds of humans, nature, myth, and spirit. As it explores fragility and pain, it will interest both fans of poetry as well as those influenced by Jungian thought.

Reviews

“Frances Hatfield’s clear and simple articulation of a profound self-examination visits the unexpected corners, the grimy streets, the full, beautiful complexity of a life fearlessly explored.”  —Betty De Shong Meador, author, Princess, Priestess, Poet: The Sumerian Temple Hymns of Enheduanna

“Using her pen like a flaying knife, Frances Hatfield opens us to the privileged intimacy of soul.”  —Patricia Damery, author, Snakes: A Novel

“In Frances Hatfield’s poems, the lived life becomes fabulous, common words become luminous, and the luminous becomes words we live by.”  —Frank Kersnowski, author, The Early Poetry of Robert Graves: The Goddess Beckons

“As its title implies, Rudiments of Flight traffics in opposites, but these poems are never contrary. Rather, they open up possibilities between the worlds of intuitive knowing and sensory experience, releasing a transcendent ability to ponder what it is to be alive in an ever-emerging world.”  —John Beebe, author, Integrity in Depth

Author Biography

Frances Hatfield maintains a private practice in depth psychotherapy and is an advanced candidate in analytic training at the C. G. Jung Institute in San Francisco. She is the recipient of the University of California’s Poet Laureate Award. She lives in Santa Cruz, California.