Barbara Saxton beckons her good memories-wholesome, compensatory, bittersweet "warrior memories"-the bereft child straining for a toehold on innocence, sister-fun fueled by stolen donuts. But, of course, they all come tumbling forth, the promise-betraying night phone calls, the sleaze of lust fed on tuna casserole. It takes fortitude-the kind that trades a mother's ring for a sister's new roof-to reconcile all that emerges with all that has been suppressed, to offset love and outrage. Saxton displays that fortitude in Dual Exposure, ransacking the archive, coping with truth, taking its measure. -Casey FitzSimons, author of Standing in the Open House and Riding Witness Poetry can mirror life. At this point in her journey, Barbara Saxton claims intimacy with Autumn's "...Change of seasons /Change of lives /Change embraced for nothing more /than its older, colder /stronger self." This poet offers poignant, sometimes painful, memories of her mother, her son's perilous birth, or a haunting phone non-conversation with an older sibling. Throughout these deeply felt, artfully-cadenced recollections, her emerging voice echoes Autumn's proclamation: I'm still here. -Jonathan Lovell, San Jose State University English Professor and Director, San Jose Area Writing Program (SJAWP) At age four, Barbara Saxton flaunted a "warrior's stance," challenging Niagara's full force. With that same tenacity, bravery, elegance and honesty, she challenges her readers to experience the forces of alcoholism, the complexity of family relationships, and the beautiful interludes of love and life. Barbara's wit and mastery of expression are woven in every line of this collection. Open Dual Exposure and receive a gift on every page. -Loretta Diane Walker, author of Word Ghetto Dual Exposure is Barbara Saxton's first book of poetry. Since emigrating to the San Francisco Bay Area from Ohio in the late 60's, she earned a B.A. in Asian Studies from the University of California (Santa Barbara), lived and traveled in Hong Kong and other areas of Asia, worked too many years in the financial services industry, married and raised two wonderful sons, and eventually transformed herself into a middle and high school English teacher. Although she has been a writer for as long as she can remember, it was only after entering the teaching profession (and beginning a long and fruitful association with Diane Frank and her ever-expanding cadre of "workshop" poets) that Barbara began to devote more time and energy to producing and refining her poetry. In addition to Diane, Barbara would like to thank her family, friends, and fellow poets of the Willow Glen (San Jose) Poetry Project for their generous support and encouragement throughout the years. Now retired from full-time teaching, Barbara engages in a cornucopia of activities, including classical and international folk singing and dance, world travel, gardening, hiking, substitute teaching and tutoring, as well as volunteering as a docent for her local elementary school district's garden-based ecology program. And, of course, writing: her "next book" is already under construction!
