Annette Gagliardi

This is the premium hardcover edition with a dust jacket and a bookmark ribbon. The vision of Sublimation is to promote speculative poetry and art. This book combines the best works from Volume 1 of Sublimation and the finalists of the Sublimation Annual Contest. The themes for 2024 were "trauma," "awe," "we are monsters all," "every party needs a bard," and "living in another world." This book features poetry and art by L. Ward Abel, Ken Anderson, F. J. Bergmann, Frank Coffman, Christopher Collingwood, Harris Coverley, a.d., Tony Daly, Megan Diedericks, Louis Faber, Diane Funston, Annette Gagliardi, Akua Lezli Hope, Barbara E. Hunt, Scott E. Green & Herb Kauderer, Ngô Bình Anh Khoa, LindaAnn LoSchiavo, John C. Mannone, Danielle McMahon, Jamie-May Minjie, Ophelia Monet, Kurt Newton, Juan Perez, Irina Tall, Jack Tricarico Jonathan Chibuike Ukah, Lynn White, AJ Wilcox, River Wilde, Trevor Wright, and Jacelyn Yap. Life deserves to be filled with poetry.

This collection pays homage to the beverages we so love to wake up to, so love to enjoy throughout the day, in many ways, and that we so love to imbibe before bed. Sunny and funny poems are interspersed with more serious ones that provide a punch, because coffee helps us think deep thoughts. Yet we don't want to take ourselves too seriously. The book ends the collection with a couple poems full of gratitude for the day and the availability of caffeine, in its many forms.

A fire begins in Deadwood, South Dakota and is soon raging through the Ponderosa Pine Forest of the Black Hills. Nine-year-old Annette, her siblings, and cousins are sent home from school early. Later in the evening, the children notice the smell of smoke. Turning on the television, they find out that the fire is actually very close. The newscast reveals that Annette's dad, uncle, and their fellow workers in the Homestake Gold Mine have been signaled to evacuate the mine and ordered to join the ranks of those fighting the fire. Radio and TV announcers let listeners know that Deadwood is being evacuated, and that residents in the nearby town of Lead, where Annette and her family live, should standby for further direction. It is a scary time for Annette, as her mom, aunt, siblings, and cousins, plan and prepare for possible evacuation. She must summon up the courage to go into the dreaded basement alone to collect supplies. Worse yet, when Mother experiences an asthma attack and sister Betty breaks her toe playing kickball, Aunt Dolly needs to drive them to the hospital, leaving Annette in charge of the other children. Annette faces her eleven siblings and cousins who look at her "like a bunch of lost puppies." In addition to coming up with ways to keep everyone occupied and calm, she must prepare supper for them, all the while worrying that they have no means of escaping, should they need to evacuate.

A fire begins in Deadwood, South Dakota and is soon raging through the Ponderosa Pine Forest of the Black Hills. Nine-year-old Annette, her siblings, and cousins are sent home from school early. Later in the evening, the children notice the smell of smoke. Turning on the television, they find out that the fire is actually very close. The newscast reveals that Annette's dad, uncle, and their fellow workers in the Homestake Gold Mine have been signaled to evacuate the mine and ordered to join the ranks of those fighting the fire. Radio and TV announcers let listeners know that Deadwood is being evacuated, and that residents in the nearby town of Lead, where Annette and her family live, should standby for further direction. It is a scary time for Annette, as her mom, aunt, siblings, and cousins, plan and prepare for possible evacuation. She must summon up the courage to go into the dreaded basement alone to collect supplies. Worse yet, when Mother experiences an asthma attack and sister Betty breaks her toe playing kickball, Aunt Dolly needs to drive them to the hospital, leaving Annette in charge of the other children. Annette faces her eleven siblings and cousins who look at her "like a bunch of lost puppies." In addition to coming up with ways to keep everyone occupied and calm, she must prepare supper for them, all the while worrying that they have no means of escaping, should they need to evacuate.

Merriam-Webster dictionary defines "compassion fatigue" as the physical and mental exhaustion and emotional withdrawal experienced by those who care for sick or traumatized people over an extended period of time. Annette Gagliardi's poetry offers compassion for the compassionate. Her poems are informed by the shift of comfort that occurs with caregivers, from the decision to provide care, to the fatigue and grace of caring for others, then to the grief and relief of saying goodbye. A Short Supply of Viability provides insight, thoughtful consideration of issues, glimpses of those being cared for, and relief from grief. It is a must read and a welcoming balm for anyone faced with becoming a caregiver, whether it be in a professional capacity or taking care of a loved one whose health is declining.