Exclamation Points: Collected Poems

Dena Taylor has written the book of poems that every poet wants to write, a collection that takes us through a life, each poem a memory, like photos in an album. She recalls clearly her childhood memories, and later as a mother and a grandmother, and in between, the poems of luscious woman song. It is the story of a life, a memoir told in tight poetic form. -- Claire Braz-Valentine, poet and playwright

In Exclamation Points, Dena Taylor cracks open her heart, invites us to sit with her under a family tree of mothers and fathers and daughters and grandkids. With a mind required to observe and share everything, we watch her daughters grow with rainbows, mosquito bites, matzo balls, and disability placards. A daughter says, "She's glad I'm there. Saying it more than once." A three-year old grandson learning to ride a bike is told of "the importance of starting with one pedal up." Taylor carves the memory of her parents with a deft blade. "The time since he died is full of things I want to tell him," she says of her father. And of her mother, "I would give both my breasts to keep you here." Sprinkled with whiskey, weed, and wine, Taylor's fearless approach to living a full life showcases the depths of love, grief, and remembrance. In "Don't Forget" she says, "Savor everything, be glad you were born, be very glad." This road map Taylor has crafted with eyes wide open, welcomes us as passengers on her unique journey. --Jory Post, publisher and co-founder of phren-z literary magazine and author of The Extra Year and Of Two Minds.