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Wildwood Devotions

poems and asemics by Karla Van Vliet

In a world where nature and spirit intertwine, this collection of poetry delves into the profound connections between the human and the wild. With verses that capture the cold stillness of night, the sacred encounters with creatures of the forest, and the silent weight of memory, these poems explore the raw, elemental forces that shape our inner landscapes. The imagery of wolves, owls, and the elusive deer serves as a metaphor for the untamed aspects of our own beings, yearning to be understood, embraced, and transformed. In this hybrid of word and visual poetry (asemics), the poet's voice rises from a place of deep reverence and introspection, offering readers a glimpse into the hallowed spaces where the wild meets the holy.

ART / Individual Artists / General
POETRY / General

ISBN: 978-1-962082-39-6 (print; softcover; perfect bound)

Released September 24, 2024
Copyright 2024

40 pages; 10 full-color illustrations

Author Biography

Karla Van Vliet is an artist, writer, gallerist, and dream-analyst. She is the author of eight collections. Her poems, asemics, and artwork have appeared worldwide. Karla is cofounder and editor of deLuge Journal and the founder of Van Vliet Gallery, which showcases art and asemics from around the world. For more information visit vanvlietarts.com.

Endorsements

“These mournful, dreamlike poems call for a beloved’s return, a reprieve from loss. Here is the heft of the beloved’s memory, the speaker untethered, and the ‘body’s ripe sorrow’ as ‘a heron lifting from the marshes.’ Karla Van Vliet’s keen attention to the natural world brings life and movement to heartache by bird wing, by bird song, by rain, and by river. In communion with nature, ‘her voice rises both desolate and according’ to ‘cast alms in the mountain’s bowl.’ The collection is arranged with Van Vliet’s arresting asemic paintings that speak to the unspoken and enhance the spare lines and lush imagery of her poems. Wildwood Devotions is sublime and inspired. This collection is one I will return to again and again.”
—Suzanne Frischkorn, author of Whipsaw and Fixed Star

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