BLUE by Wesley St. Jo and Remé Grefalda
Illustrated by Wesley St Jo
Copyright © C. Sophia Ibardaloza and Remé Grefalda
Release date: April 2017
Pages: 44
Price: $17 (before discount)
Perfect-bound Paperback
Full Color Interior
0.29 lbs 6×9 inches
Distributor: Paloma Press
Paloma Press is delighted to announce the release of BLUE, a poetry collaboration by Wesley St. Jo and Remé Grefalda.
OFFICIAL LAUNCH AT THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
ADVANCE WORDS
Never mind fairy tales! Reality can offer enchantment! As in Blue’s unique tale of the luminosity in a pair of eyes expanding to blue the world with all the shades and nuance of a color that’s apt for many things literal or metaphorical: sky, sorrow, the ocean, sunlight, a telephone, “some yesterday tune,” and “belonging obviously to you” … —Eileen R. Tabios
REVIEWS
St. Jo and Grefalda excel in describing the nuance of a color: blue has a character of its own, from a blue sky to a blue visage, a blue parting and blue ink. The book reads not unlike a fairytale. Its lyrical verse and fantastical illustrations create a backdrop for discovery as well as longing. As a blue heart chases blue eyes, a story unfolds, and we cannot help but fall into its rhythm. Blue, “impractical blue — blue togetherness,” is not a long book, nor is it particularly complicated. But the bold brevity of the work enhances the sentiment present in each line. From the hesitance of “Should / I / Linger?” to the sureness of “lose you to a song? / absurd,” the poem has a way of drawing meaning from even the smallest of phrases. Blue may have only four letters, but it opens up to an entire world of thought. —Jacket2
The true gift of poetry as an art form is its deft use of air. Of space. Of pauses and gaps into which the reader can pour him- or herself. Blue takes these strengths of poetry and puts them to maximum use. With its glossy pages, blue and black ink, illustrations, and numerous typefaces, Blue looks like and reads with the speed of a children’s picture book, but don’t mistake the design for simplicity—Blue invites and rewards multiple readings, each with its own approach. —Literary Aficionado
What does matter is the fun you have attempting to grasp what is clearly nearly in-hand. The short sentences and one or two syllable words of the poem, make you swing through to the end with an ease that you, gradually realize, is not completely warranted. There is much more here than meets the eye. It is, you gradually realize, a divine jigsaw mystery. —Galatea Resurrects
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
WESLEY ST. JO is an artist and writer based in Morgan Hill, California. Her work has been featured in various online and print media including the anthologies, Finding God (Anvil, 2009) and A Taste of Home (Anvil, 2008).
REMÉ GREFALDA is the author of baring more than soul and The Other Blue Book: On The High Seas of Discovery, and co-authored a Ford Foundation report, Towards A Cultural Community: Identity, Education and Stewardship in Filipino American Performing Arts. She is the recipient of the Philippines Palanca Award for her full length play, In the Matter of Willie Grayson, produced and staged at Howard University in Washington, D.C.
PALOMA PRESS 