Books published by Shanti Arts LLC

This brilliant collection of twenty short stories by prose and poetry writer M. Kaat Toy provides an entertaining yet poignant portrayal of life in America. It is also an exploration of contemporary work and social issues looked at through the lenses of society, culture, and geography. Readers will meet Sarah, who searches for coins in a laundromat on her way home from work; Claire, who wants only three things out of life: to live at the beach, to have blonde hair, and to be able to drink Cokes; Kim, confined to a wheelchair, who is having problems in school because of issues with her mother and caregiver; Christine and Philip, who have everything life can offer except the red leather cowboy boots they swindle from a friend; and Megan, who travels to Los Angeles from her home in Vermont to visit her dysfunctional family and dying grandmother. These are absorbing characters and plots that will lead readers to look a bit differently at the world in which we live.

Though mainly a prolific personal essayist, Naomi Beth Wakan admits that poetry in the form of haiku, tanka, and free verse has occupied a large percentage of her waking hours and many of her sleeping ones too. This exceptional collection, Wind on the Heath, includes poems written when Wakan was in her twenties along with many written in recent years, thus spanning roughly sixty years of inquisitive thinking and creative writing. The foundation of Wakan''s work is her dedication to living an examined life, which Wakan describes in this way: Seeking in the darkness/a crack through/which we may glimpse reality. Her poetry, superbly presented in this life-spanning collection, allows readers to see the flicker of light showing through the crack. This is poetry to live by. 

Art Beck''s introduction notes that "translating poetry is writing poetry, only harder." But he also views it as an art akin to musical performance. Returning to these pieces by Rilke many times over the years, Beck came to realize that "it wasn''t so much to perfect or polish the English renditions as to listen more closely to the ''original score.''" In addition to selections from The Book of Images and New Poems, this volume includes the complete Sonnets to Orpheus, which the translator contends are best experienced as a cycle akin to "a wandering piece of music with various crescendos, diminuendos, pauses, and arias." Those who appreciate Rilke''s lyrical style and mystical underpinnings will find much to admire in these new translations. Those interested in approaches to poetry translation will benefit from the translator''s accompanying commentary, discussing how Rilke''s "broad range and multiple personalities" almost require multiple translators and voices.

Reminiscent of the American blues tradition, the dozen lyrical laments in this collection remind us that even in an age of moral panic, climate disaster, pandemic, and political corruption, the world''s fading beauty still has the power to astound us and drop us to our knees in broken praise.

This revelatory collection of ekphrastic poetry was inspired by the paintings of forty-seven women artists working over five centuries and born in twenty-five different countries. Some were well known within their circles and times; others worked in relative obscurity. The youngest died at twenty-six, the oldest at 101; some are painting at this very moment. "[Chroma] draws us backward in time, but also inwards: into the mind of a modern viewer, into the lives of women painters across the centuries, and into their paintings, which are not only creations, but characters, catalysts, windows, worlds." (Libby Maxey, editor and poet, author of Kairos, winner of the 2018 New Women''s Voices Contest, Finishing Line Press)

In Angel Chimes, writer, poet, and scholar Judith Sornberger draws on her broad academic and personal interests in women''s studies, religion, Mariology, iconography, and art to consider, in poetry, the Biblical stories memorialized during the Christian liturgical cycle of Advent and Christmas. Presented in three sections-Preparations, Silent Night, and Holy Family-these poems are complemented by select art works representing the past six centuries. As the poet reaches back into the ancient stories, she illuminates our own sacred stories-personal, family, and communal. One need not be religious to enjoy this beautifully designed book that will surely add meaning and inspiration to any reader''s appreciation for the popular seasons of Advent and Christmas.

Sixteen essaysΓÇå-ΓÇåranging from lyric essays to narrative journalismΓÇå-ΓÇåaddress how we make sense of what we cannot know, how we make change in the world, how we heal, and how we know when we are home. Collectively, these essays convey the longing for agency and connection, particularly among women. They will resonate with readers of all ages, but perhaps especially with women in the second half of life, those dealing with aging parents, retirement, illness, and accompanying vulnerabilities. Here readers will find comfort within keen reflection upon life''s ambiguities. 

In 2013 Bronwen Mayer Henry, then a young woman with two small children, learned she had thyroid cancer. Facing her fear and sense of hopelessness, she called upon her family and friends for love and support, and she relied upon her faith to keep her strong and resilient. Following her treatment with radioactive iodine, she was forced to spend a week entirely alone, taking up temporary residence in a house belonging to a friend who was away. During that difficult, but also pivotal time, Henry decided to spend her days painting. That week was a turning point, setting her on a journey to discover the force of her creative spirit to bring love and compassion to the forefront of her life. Radioactive Painting is a story about tapping into the energy of one’s creative spirit, finding something completely unexpected and beautiful in spite of one's fear and hopelessness. 

A delightful collection of Khanty folktales introducing children of all ages to the animal persons of Siberia, among them Cuckoo Mother, Paki the Bear, and Sandpiper. From these tales emerge the ancient voices of the forest, reminding us of the value of kinship with animals and spirits in the natural world. Colorful illustrations by Gennady Raishev add life and vibrancy to these treasured tales.

Leslie Klein's Driving through Paintings takes the reader on a journey as she relives the many trips she's taken to places both near and far. “Within these pages / the pulse of my life resides. // The journeys taken / ideas birthed / sorrows unveiled.” Her poems illustrate the beauty and mystery of nature, the spirit of a creative life, and the journey of self-awareness.

Denise David's collection of poems, Against Forgetting, grew out of research and interviews done for a project about the war brides of World War II. The stories revealed by the characters in these poems speak of personal experiences but point to a universal significance through the various themes explored: the moral ambiguity of separating children from parents; the difficulties faced by immigrants; the importance of small acts of humanity in the midst of devastation; and the often unseen importance of women's lives, including the near invisibility of war brides. David's poems show us a grim past that we should not ever forget as well as compassionate and forgiving qualities of humanity that give us hope.

Explores experiences of exile and displacement common to third-generation German Jews.