Looking Back - by Diane H Schetky (Paperback)

About the Book

Schetky's fourth book of poetry, Looking Back: New & Selected Poems, takes us exploring far-off places, including the Arctic and Antarctica. In free verse, Schetky shares concerns about climate change and aging and her enthusiasm for nature and wildlife.

Book Synopsis

In Schetky's fourth book of poetry, Looking Back: New & Selected Poems, she takes us exploring far-off places, including the Arctic and Antarctica. In free verse, Schetky shares concerns about climate change and aging and her enthusiasm for nature and wildlife. She notes, "nature bestows daily gifts upon those whose eye and ears are ready to receive them."

Schetky, who has lived in Maine since 1986, was pleased to be still able to corral a flock of poems into another book with sketches during the pandemic and lockdown of 2020.

As an octogenarian with early Alzheimer's, Schetky worries about her losses. She began assembling some of her older poems to save memories of the past and reflect and share them with friends and readers. The selection "Unfolding" reveals her background and a flow of eclectic compositions, old and new follows. The end of the book focuses on finding serendipity in a changing world.

Review Quotes

Perceptive, poignant, and lyrical, Diane Schetky's wordplay combines the wisdom of aging, wonder at the natural world, and sensitivity to a changing world. Reading her poems is an experiential process, inviting empathic "Looking Back." or recognition of "Right Whales Wrong Climate". Schetky's verse captures the reader with eloquence and insight.

-Ellen Rothchild, Clinical Professor of Psychiatry Emerita, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine

I love experiencing the world through Diane Schetky's poetry. Her reverence for Mother Earth, her knowledge and love of music and the natural world are deftly braided throughout this collection. But,

Unfolding is more than that. In this collection, perhaps her most

personal yet, the poet also includes poems about significant people from her childhood, loss, a failing memory, and aging. Never sentimental, Diane's humor and wit make pop-up appearances, and her illustrations provide the perfect grace note on which to linger after reading her poems. I know Unfolding will call me back many, many times.

-Maggie Butler, MSW, Certified Amherst Writers & Artist Facilitator

There is rich retrospection here as Schetky looks back on a life of challenges and rewards. Her connection to nature once more shines through, whether it is geese golfing or right whales in the wrong climate. Birds are a special love, from the swallow to the great blue heron. There are travel vignettes and tributes to favorite trees and her beloved aged Isabel with her "senior citizen dog treats." Schetky faces personal and world setbacks with compassion and grace-and humor (read "Apology to my Hair"). Take pleasure and solace in her verse.

-Carl Little, author of Ocean Drinker: New and Selected Poems