The Jagged Edge Anthology

My new book, The Jagged Edge Anthology is the twenty third book I’ve published in about forty years. It represents one book published roughly every two years. (The first six books were put together years ago at a print shop, before all the online publishing options were available.) Several others were self-published through Author House. However, most were self-published for free through Draft to Digital with the help of my brother, Bernie. Several of my books were published by competitive publishers that accepted my submissions. Over the years, Donna and I have sold about five hundred books and have given away about as many more.

My last book has been recently published by a British editor named Robin Barratt, founder of Poetry for Mental Health. He has accepted dozens of my poems for his own anthologies that are filled with poems and personal stories from writers around the world. He did an outstanding job on my book and was able to complete the editing in about two weeks. He even got it on Amazon.com in weeks rather than the months it took for other editors to get my work published.

I’ve wanted to collect and publish my best work for a number of years. This new book, The Jagged Edge Anthology, is the realization of that dream. The anthology is filled with previously published work that I’ve put together as examples of my ability as an author. I’ve tried to include works that represent themes about mental health challenges that have been left undiscovered by society as a whole. The book expresses my own belief and experiences that describe my hope and despair, but always with the need to keep moving forward. Often the journey is lonely and frustrating, as it is for many of us to some degree.

I’m very proud of my anthology because it represents my best work that has both literary merit and important relevance. I’ve included the short introduction to my book that, I think, helps explain my background and purpose in writing.

Introduction:

My latest book, The Jagged Edge Anthology, is a collection of writings that describes my creative life as an author. In this anthology, I’ve included many examples of my best work, much of which have been published in literary journals or other publications. This collection includes a wide variety of creative writing: Poems, stories, newsletters, plays and even the narration for a possible children’s book. Most of my writing has mental illness and recovery as the major emphasis, but they all, I think, describe elements of the human condition.

There exists in this anthology what might be considered a major contradiction in my writing that may seem disingenuous or even hypocritical, so I feel I must explain it. For my entire adult life mental illness and spirituality have coexisted for me. My mental journey through life has known the depths of despair and the joy of spiritual discovery. Despite my best efforts, I’ve always had times of mental challenges that have never been transcended. Although meditation, creative writing and inspirational reading have greatly improved my quality of life, I still need to constantly monitor my thoughts and emotions. My effort to cure my bipolar disorder has not been successful. Even with coping skills, I still experience seasons of mental anguish that can lead to intense anxiety and depression. Doubt and even despair still haunt me at times, and these states of mind are often addressed in my creative writing. Both faith and mental illness have always been a part of my life, and in my writing, both exist because I feel I must remain true to my unique experience.

As the title suggests, The Jagged Edge Anthology implies life is often difficult and even dangerous for those of us struggling with mental illness. This theme can be found throughout my poems, stories, and plays, and often the plots and ideas represent actual events that have occurred throughout my spiritual journey through life. I hope you enjoy my book and find it realistic and relatable to some extent to your own life and circumstances. Thanks for your interest in my anthology. It means a lot to me.

My book is available on Amazon.com for $2.99 as an e-book and for $9.99 as a paperback. I hope you get a chance to read it and that all is going well for you, and I’ll see you next week!

(Please remember these are my own ideas, and I’m not attempting to persuade anyone to change theirs.)

Quotes taken from my book, Passing through the Dream:

“Filling the prisons, abandoned by all, the mentally ill may have only God.” John Zurn

“God, the creator, hides deep in the play. Writers who found him have pointed the way.” John Zurn

“A writer’s ideas can often seem deep, but God is the source of what they believe.” John Zurn

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