Pat Butler, a native New Yorker, has transplanted to New England, France, and the South, and currently resides in Florida. Transition, transience and relocation are therefore a way of life, and the major theme of this chapbook. Two previous chapbooks, Poems from the Boatyard and The Boatman's Daughter, explored themes of place, identity and home. Transplants probes the dislocation, disorientation, and emotional dynamics of transition. The Boatman's Daughter finds herself on a new shore, returning to America after 12 years overseas. America has changed, as has she: a frenetic urban pace slows to small town rhythms; the hustle of the city relaxes into contemplations on the couch. Northern directness, mellowed by French finesse, now yields to Southern charm. The poems, written mostly in Georgia, observe its culture, wildlife and rhythms, through the lens of re-entry shock. Transition is eased by the gifts of magnolias, hummingbirds, and soft temperatures. Transplants opens with a poem that evokes the emotional roller coaster of transition, and closes with one that resolves its tensions. Both poems are set, appropriately, in Autumn, the season that marked the anniversary of Pat's arrival in and, eight years later, departure from Georgia. The season appears as one of the chapbook's main characters, with its distinctive rhythms of death and release, gathering and harvest. It provides an apt metaphor for transition, and ultimately reveals where hope can be found. This is Pat's third chapbook with Finishing Line Press. She has also been published in a number of literary and online journals, including Cardinal Flower, Aurorean, and Ruminate. Pat is part of the Peachtree Poets' scene, including its annual poetry competition, where she has won numerous awards, mentions, and publication in their chapbooks; four entries appear in Transplants. Follow Pat on social media and the following sites: Website: www.theliteraryboatyard.wordpress.com Blog: http://poemsfromtheboatyard.blogspot.com/ Facebook: Poems from the Boatyard Instagram: boatyardpat
