VIVIAN EYRE’S ISHMAEL’S VIOLETS
Ishmael’s Violets by Vivian Eyre is an ode to the sea and its majestic creatures—from whales to lobsters to Harpies—and a vivid tableau of maritime life. More importantly, it is also a call to arms. Whether invoking Melville, addressing Rachel Carson, or referencing seafaring history, Eyre’s poems—peopled, palpable, vivid, and rich with music—evoke not only coastal culture in all its iterations but catalogue the implications of our heavy human hand. Through ardent observation, Eyre animates and advocates for our interconnectedness with the natural world and our responsibility to caring for it. Compassionate and urgent, Ishmael’s Violets is eco-poetry activism at its best.
— Tina Cane
Vivian Eyre’s latest poetry collection, Ishmael’s Violets (Kelsay Books) launched in December 2023. Her work has been featured in The Massachusetts Review, Bellingham Review, One Art,Pangyrus, Spire, The Ashville Poetry Review, and The Fourth River, among others. Her ekphrastic poems inspired by Neo Rauch’s “para” paintings, were included in the anthology, Neu Smoke (Black Square Editions. Off the Park Press). The “Brunch Poems” series, founded by Vivian in 2013, continues its monthly poetry discussions at Floyd Memorial Library (Greenport, NY). As a community member at Imago Foundation for the Arts, she moderates their “Poets in Conversation” series. Vivian has served as guest curator for the Whale House at the Southold Historical Society Museum (Southold, NY) and as a cold stunned sea turtle rescue volunteer for NY Marine Rescue. Vivian lives with her companion standard poodle in Warren, RI. Follow her on Instagram: @vivianeyrepoet
Ishmael’s Violets
86 pages, $20.00
ISBN: 978-1-63980-463-4
Published by Kelsay Books
Available through Ingram, your local bookstore, Amazon.com and other online retailers
Contact the poet for readings or workshops: