ECHOES FROM ANOTHER SHORE by Geneva Ensign, review by Elma Schemenauer

As the author of a novel about marriage (CONSIDER THE SUNFLOWERS), I'm particularly interested in Geneva Ensign's poems about love and relationships. Following are some insights that stood out for me in this regard:

Yet, love

Is beyond reason,

Beyond my logic and

My mind.

 

I don't like

Being alone and lonely.

I like less

Being together and lonely.

 

As a Christian, I'm also especially interested in her poems about religious faith. Here are some sample lines:

 

The Word that created

All of creation,

Is

On-going,

Ever

Creating me

Anew.

 

The book's main focus is on identity and self-knowledge. Sample lines:

 

Am I brave enough to know my longings?

Identify my desires?

Change my yearnings into dreams;

My dreams into reality?

 

 

Further themes in ECHOES FROM ANOTHER SHORE include communication, growth and development, the beauty of nature, and the Great Inevitable—physical death.

 

An interesting dimension comes from the poet's references to other writers and/or their works. I like the way she weaves in Rudy Wiebe, Annie Dillard, Robertson Davies, C.S. Lewis, and even 17^th-century poet Robert Herrick of "Gather ye rosebuds" fame.

 

I appreciate Ensign's sensitivity and honesty. She doesn't know all the answers. She's willing to admit that—and to continue growing and learning as she moves forward in her life.

 

ECHOES FROM ANOTHER SHORE is a 199-page paperback published in 2019. It's available from the author, Geneva Ensign, at gee_b@shaw.ca . She's also the author of IN COMMUNITY HEALING: A TRANSCULTURAL MODEL, published by Hancock House in 2018.