"Lucky readers of Lois Parker Edstrom's new collection will be treated to the poet's exceptional skill in mixing the outer, visible world of nature, the inner, invisible world of the human spirit, all wrapped in a shawl of Divine light. Edstrom avers, 'Truth is always a bit odd. How meaning / may be found in the midst of chaos if / we listen, open ourselves to the risk / of what we might find inside. And isn't this / what art is all about?'" Michael Escoubas, Editor and Book Reviewer, Quill and Parchment"In her latest collection, The Lesson of Plums, Lois Parker Edstrom explores 'the tension between things, ' 'the distance between beginning and the end.' Through her words we explore ocean depths and volcanic eruptions, learn that what ripens into sweetness might not be without its cracks and scars yet shows forth an inner light. Poems rooted in mystery weave seamlessly vignettes of life on her island home, love that rises to the edge of risk, and the gifts of a life spent listening and being present. Abiding in the spaces between understanding and the unexpected, 'insight rides on the susurrus / of waves faithful to the shore.'" Ronda Piszk Broatch, author of Lake of Fallen Constellations