Death & Passion is a fine art poetry book addressing two grand topics. Deaths occur in our lives everyday…the big ones and the smaller deaths of life. Often the ways we deal with disappointments and grief are intertwined with our passions which can literally save us. Through the stories of Reese’s poetry and the visions of Dale’s exquisite photography this book invites the reader to enter into these subjects and reflect on their own deaths and passions with a broader view.

45 Poems by Reese Taylor
18 Photographs by Dale Ray Welsh

To see more of Dale’s photography please visit his website.

LEAVES is an eclectic collection of memories and observations. Many of these poems may leave the reader pondering their own existential questions. That is my hope…that readers enjoy my words on their own merit but also apply any messages to their lives through their own individual filters. The poems in LEAVES trace a path through places I have visited or lived and the people who were and are important to me. This collection addresses the spirit, home, love, loss and friendships in ways that I hope will appeal to your senses.

LEAVES is a beautiful collaboration of my poetry and the art of Alexandra Eldridge. Alexandra’s mastery of symbolism and imagery meet my poetry in a way that
magnifies both avenues of communication.

Copies of LEAVES are now available for purchase through my website store.
LEAVES, along with my first book, SPARE are also available in Santa Fe, NM
at Garcia Street Books.

To explore more of Alexandra’s art please visit her website.
Thank you for your interest in this project.

IN THE SPRING OF 2012 I had the good fortune of co-leading with Noirin Ni Riaian, a women’s experiential depth psychology retreat entitled, “To the Waters and the Wild: A Journey of Adventure and Renewal.“ As part of the annual Jung in Ireland Tour that Aryeh Maidenbaum and Diana Rubin create each year through their innovative organization, The New York Center for Jungian Studies, we entered into a week of experiential alchemical work of courting the subtle body with the spirits of the place and the Celtic imagination to enchant us. While staying a week on retreat at the Rathmullen House on the Innishowen peninsula, an Atlantic inlet of Lough Swilly, we enjoyed the pristine beaches steps from the hotel, along with sacred sites including the Beltany Stone Circle, one of Ireland’s most stellar ancient standing stone circles.

Specifically, while looking into the ancient song of Amergin, the Celtic world’s first bard poet’s utterance of great shamanic power, celebrating the great “ I am” in the world soul itself, we then took up our pens and found the voices within speaking to us the mysteries in response to that first line “I Am. . . ” however it might whisper to us. This was followed by adding the echo, “If you are _____, I am ______” and the poetry that poured forth was at times a healing balm and at times tremendously energizing as veiled parts of the psyche spoke forth. We also tracked the unfolding imagination within that responded to the first line, “If I could wake the dead. . . .” The poetic offerings surprised us and stretched us and created a shared field of complexity with fresh perceptions appearing like new eyes of light born up out of the darkness of the psyche. Our hope is that the spirits that gathered with us,
and inspired us here, also spark your imaginative fire, as you dear reader,
find your way into these pages.
–excerpt from Introduction by Monika Wikman

SPARE—A Poetic Memoir, published in 2011 was my first book of poetry and the first book to be produced through be bold books. SPARE won first place in the 2012 Southwest Book Design and Production, Poetry division. SPARE was also a finalist for Poetry  in the 2012
New Mexico-Arizona Book Awards.

A few copies of SPARE are still available through  my website store or in Santa Fe, NM at Garcia Street Books or ARRAY.