The Crone at the Casino
by Janet McCann
McCann uses her gift of lyrical language to share her visions and her many loves—of people, great literature, the taste of fine food, art, cats—all the while reminding us of mutability, of time-wrought change, of the inevitability of growing old. All stories progress, she reminds us, however much we might want to end them with happily ever after. McCann invites us to look at “Old Cinderella” who advises her granddaughter to “marry a carpenter” while her own
arthritic fingers fasten the diamond tiara
(That glass slipper in a case, backlit)
Prince long gone in a drunken duel
Over someone’s daughter
There is also renewal and joy in the movement of time that McCann celebrates in well-wrought lines that lead the reader to share epiphanies.
Order from any bookstore, local or online. This title is also available from Fleur Fine Books of Galveston, Texas.
About the Author
In her work, the crone poet Janet McCann explores faith and the passage of time. Her collections include Looking for Buddha in the Barbed-Wire Garden (1996), Emily’s Dress (2004), and Pascal Goes to the Races (2004). McCann has coedited, with David Craig, the faith-based anthologies Odd Angles of Heaven (1994), Place of Passage (2000), and Francis and Clare in Poetry (2005). Journals publishing her work include Kansas Quarterly, Parnassus, Nimrod, Sou’Wester, Christian Century, Christianity And Literature, New York Quarterly, Tendril, Poetry Australia, and Mccall’s, among many others. Her honors include a 1989 fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. She is a professor of creative writing at Texas A&M University, where she has taught since 1969, and she lives in College Station, Texas.