April 28, 2015
A new book of poetry has hit the market thanks to Dr. Clarence Johnson, adjunct instructor of English at Northwestern Oklahoma State University.
“Lamentations, Peregrinations, and Adumbrations” is the third book written by Johnson.
“It is heavily invested in the business of trying to capture the systematic and almost irrevocable depopulation of rural America,” Johnson said.
Johnson will be reading excerpts from this book, as well as from some unpublished material that will be coming in his next book during the annual First Friday Art Walk on Friday, May 1, at 6 p.m. at Graceful Arts Gallery in downtown Alva. This reading is part of the Creative Readings Series sponsored by the English program. Others featured that evening will be Sheldon Russell and Alica Hall.
Writing has been a lifetime avocation for Johnson – he started when he was a sophomore in high school. He added that he began to chronicle stories of rural America when he was in college in the 1960s and 1970s.
“People are dying, towns are dying, and there is no new generation to take their place,” Johnson said.
Some of Johnson’s favorite pieces in his latest offering come early in the book. He specifically noted that people shouldn’t miss the first 15 to 20 pieces and highly recommends some of the sonnets.
Johnson’s other two books are titled “Guilt and Other Passions,” a book of short fiction, and “Ruminations,” a book of poetry.
All publications are available on Amazon.com. Johnson also has copies if anyone is interested.
For more information on his books or to make a purchase directly from Johnson, contact him at cojohnson@nwosu.edu.
-NW-