Shade and Shadow

“There is something so unique about your poetry, in that I can really feel who you are. It is brave, revealing, and goes places we are afraid to admit to in ourselves. Your poetry, in fact, is like a photograph: it allows the usually unexpressed to be visible. In other words, if one allows herself, through the reading of your poems, she can become more visible to herself. This, in essence, defines great poetry,” – Dina Wolff, MA, of Authentic Publishing

“I read the poems aloud to my husband, a thoroughly rational physicist, as we were driving across New Mexico beginning a new life as retirees and temporary vagabonds. Uncharacteristically, he responded to the feelings expressed in many of the poems, and, as a result, we were able to make an emotional connection which enhanced our relationship and this new phase of our lives.” – Jean Munsee, retired Middle School Counselor

Congratulations on these fine, beautiful pages-and for the images, memories and insights so well-delivered. Thank you for writing the book. I keep it beside my chair and I read a poem every morning. -- David Douglas, Author of Wilderness Sojourn, Notes in the Desert and co-author of Pilgrims in the Kingdom,Travels in Christian Britain

"Poignant, personal, and powerful; bold, brave and beautiful--these pictures and poems of Ann Lovell Rowe." --Robert A. Chesnut, Pastor Emeritus, East Liberty Presbyterian Church, Pittsburgh, PA

It takes great courage for an artist to seek the truth in his or her life. I can see that you're searching hard for the truth in your work as I do in mine. As I heard you read I thought how courageous you are about truth, that is all important .If you aren’t truthful somehow the work itself is false. I admire how candid you are about your journey. --Bill Jackson, Artist/Photographer

“What a lovely surprise to find a copy of your poetry/photography for me at the office. I begin reading in the car at stoplights on the way home, then before starting dinner and dinner and then after dinner and now during breakfast … I find so much of myself in your poetry, or maybe so much of what is a woman’s experience. You really have bared your soul, which I think takes great courage and trust.” --Judy Crawford, former public school teacher turned water project development administrator

“You challenged me, turned on some lights about the cycle of life and family: to accept the shifting of responsibility. It is part of life. It is a gift.” —Ranee Smith, Russian scholar, mother of two small children