Literary Revelations Presents: Portrait of a Writer – Dawn Pisturino

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Literary Revelations is thrilled to present a wonderful writer – Dawn Pisturino.

BIO

Dawn Pisturino is a retired registered nurse whose international publishing credits include poems, short stories, and articles. She has published five poetry collections and a children’s middle-grade mystery novel – All Amazon Best Sellers. http://www.dawnpisturino.org

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What inspires you?

Mother Nature inspires me. I grew up in the country, so I’ve always lived close to nature. The city has its charms, but nothing compared to the natural world. The awesome power of God inspires me. He created a perfect world. It’s the arrogance and weakness of human beings that make life ugly. My beautiful, talented daughter has inspired me since she was born. She continues to give me the courage to move forward.

Why poetry?

I began reading the great Romance poets (Tennyson, Keats, Shelley, Byron, etc.) as a teenager. When I discovered Elizabeth Barrett Browning, I was hooked. Sonnet 43 (“How Do I Love Thee?”) is regarded as one of the great love poems of all time. I began writing my own poetry to cope with a dysfunctional family.

Future Writing Plans?

After publishing five poetry collections, I decided it was time to move on. I completed and published a children’s mystery novel. At my daughter’s urging, I decided it was time to write my memoir of living in an experimental community (commune) that turned into a well-known cult. Although it brings back a lot of bad memories, I think it’s important to write about my experiences and educate people about the dangers of cults and cult-like thinking. I learned a lot about social organization, group dynamics, brainwashing, and the effects of peer pressure.

Favorite poets and/or novelists?

My favorite writers have always been and always will be the Bronte sisters. Charlotte Bronte wrote the beloved novel, Jane Eyre, and Emily Bronte penned the wildly passionate novel, Wuthering Heights. Charlotte wrote from personal experience and an unrequited romance, and Emily revealed her sensitive, poetic nature in her beautifully written story of the doomed lovers, Catherine and Heathcliff. These books explore the class structure of Great Britain and the difficult plight of women at the time, but both end on a hopeful note. These timeless classics have profoundly affected many readers, including myself. I’ve read Wuthering Heights fifteen times.

TWO POEM BY DAWN PISTURINO

Broken

The year unfolds
And I trace the line of our days
With trembling fingers
Eaten by time
And bone-weary pain.
Two broken people
Fractured by life
And never the same –
You filled me like no one could –
And yet, today, we are farther apart
In every way.
That tied us together
And draw you close
In a loving embrace.
Life without you is an empty void.
I need to meet you face to face.

Wolf

Raw. Brutal. Wild.
A green-eyed wolf roams through the forest,
Seeking his prey.
Slipping through the shadows undetected,
He stands silent on the top of a hill –
Proud and indomitable –
And stares into the anxious eyes
Of a colonist down below.
The man shakes his crude axe,
Sweating with pungent fear.
The wolf assesses his enemy
With strategic contemplation,
Smells the hot blood in the man’s throbbing jugular,
And races down the hill for his noonday slaughter.

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Gabriela Marie Milton
Author, Editor in Chief, Founder

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OUR BOOKS

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1. Haiku and Tanka: Lull, Harmony and Power in Japanese Art
2. Fine art Photography: Lullscapes in Light and Shadow
3. Tranquility: An Anthology of Haiku 
4. Celebrating Poetry by Cindy Georgakas 
5. Full Moon Confessions: Poetry by Tracey Anne
6. Petals of Haiku: An Anthology 
7. Hidden in Childhood: A Poetry Anthology
8. Echoes Lost in Stars: Poems by PS Conway
9. Love, Stars, and Paradigms: Poems by Swarn Gill
10. Building Sandcastles by C.X. Turner and James Welsh  
11. Greenlandos by Virginia Witch

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