Welcome to the June 2018 edition of Blue Heron Speaks! This month, we are honored to share the very important work of author and editor, Darren C Demaree. Darren’s most recent collection is Two Towns Over (2018), which was selected by Trio House Press as the winner of the Louise Bogan Award. He is the Managing Editor of the Best of the Net Anthology and Ovenbird Poetry. In these poems of deep reflection about the loss of self, accompanying addiction, we see the curtain pulled back on how numbing life can take away any semblance of the life you once had, as in the lines, “the drugs can subtract / you forever.” These poems invite you to think about addiction with a sensitive heart and an awareness of how all-encompassing the hold can be on one’s spirit and direction. Darren compares the powerful nature of drugs to fierce animals, with these last lines, “They are wolves. / We’ve been raised by them.” Although we may sink during challenging times, there is always an opportunity to rise. Looking into the eyes of our own fears and sorrows will eventually lead us out of the dark, if we are offered compassion—if we have compassion for ourselves and for others.

Please visit the Blue Heron Speaks Featured Author page of our site, to read 3 sample poems by Darren C Demaree from Two Towns Over, and to learn more about this author’s stunning work.

Darren C Demaree is the author of eight poetry collections, most recently Two Towns Over (2018), which was selected the winner of the Louise Bogan Award from Trio House Press. He is the Managing Editor of the Best of the Net Anthology and Ovenbird Poetry. He is currently living in Columbus, Ohio with his wife and children.  Learn more about this author at:  https://darrencdemaree.com