Cornelia Benavidez's spiritual and inspiration
poems are prefaced by her autobiography of growing up in 1960s and 1970s
America, just as alternative spiritual beliefs were starting to become popular.
A fascinating snapshot of those times and the prime movers within them. Transpiration
is a dynamic odyssey that moves seamlessly from autobiography to poetry. The
author’s story of growing up in the USA in the 60s and 70s resonates with a
deep accord of the ambience of the times, through a magical and intensely
personal take on a spiritual awakening, made all the more intimate through the
use of dialogue that brings the experiences alive and makes them authentic. Benavidez’s
poetic imagination seeks to make hermeneutic sense of the Divine from the
perspective of someone schooled in Christianity but becoming increasingly aware
of alternative spiritual paths. This is exquisitely realised in her poetry, which
treads a fine metaphysical line, moving in and out of reality boxes with
dexterity, and always bringing something new to the table with each verse. The best poetry
holds up a mirror to consensus reality and reflects back what might otherwise
be concealed. The poems in this book achieve this skilfully, moving between the
sacred significance of the epic ‘Nephilim’ to shorter works that attempt to
tease out the elusive meaning of existence, always imbued with an acute wisdom
as to what spiritual portals may truly represent. The poetic awareness is, in
every sense, transpirational. Dr Neil
Rushton, author of Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun www.deadbutdreaming “Truly inspirational poetry, prefaced by a
fascinating insight into the growth of alternative spiritual beliefs in 1970s
America.” Andrew Collins, author of ‘From the Ashes
of Angels’ and
co-author of ‘SHE: Primal Meetings with the Dark Goddess’
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