Shattering and Bricolage

Shattering and Bricolage

Contains the poem "Kintsukuroi," quoted on the TV show Criminal Minds.  "When wounds are healed by love / The scars are beautiful." The title of David Bowles' first book of original poetry references the artistic technique of creating by combining in a mosaic the shards of previous, broken works. The volume explores the idea of psychological growth as a sort of bursting-apart and reintegration of the ego, examining the illusions and deceptions that humans can free themselves from if they are willing to undo their personas in order to expand their selves. Ranging from experimental to traditional, from lyrical to narrative, these pieces sound the darkest depths of the human psyche and gaze upward at the dizzying heights we might one day reach. "David Bowles' first book of poems draws on varied sources -- spiritual imagery from old Mexico, the Far East, India, ancient Greece, the Texas borderlands -- turning all into >original collages. 'Emptiness' reveals useful poetics: 'Thus taught the master:/ Constant practice. Learn all forms./ Once they are mastered, empty yourself of technique/of desire to control.// Then, when the time comes,/ art itself will move your hands/ spontaneously,/ your body a conduit/ for universe's will.' Every aspiring artist should follow this advice." --San Antonio Express-News "It seems, at times, David Bowles 'has wandered away from the land of men,' his earthly declarations channeled up from a history of ancient monsters: a world still ruled by deep mystery. His words strike unexpected chords and intense visuals: 'Death will come slow/ Like a beautiful girl who does not turn away.' They are fresh and mythical, with voices of Old Mexico and samurai and ancient Greece that teach us death is just another stepping stone in this life's journey. 'When wounds are healed by love," he says, "The scars are beautiful.' These are powerful poems to haunt and enthrall, connecting us beyond time and rushed reality. Prepare for a new voice. Prepare to be left wanting more." --Karla K. Morton 2010 Texas Poet Laureate "David Bowles' words will take you from a false ultrasound reading to the sun of the Aztecs, from runaway newspapers borne on the wind to runaway cosmology of demons and gods. David Bowles is not afraid, either of words or ideas. You will feel braver after reading Shattering and Bricolage ." Jan Seale 2012 Texas Poet Laureate