By Dr. Edward L. Smith & Carmen M. Pursifull
Editors Introduction (abridged):
Poets such as Carmen M.
Pursifull and Edward L. Smith are unique guardians of imagination, the lyric
voice expressing its encounter with the puzzling, but awesome universe. They
combine their poetic expressiveness to create a humanizing force in our world of
uncertainty, which often imprisons our imagination, capturing it in passivity
without humane content. This selection of poems not only stimulate the
imagination, it also provides an opportunity for all its readers to explore
human values. The candor in The World of Wet is startling -- and refreshing. The
collection is gutsy and deserves credit for recognizing thorny issues. Edward
and Carmen do not hide the truth about their passions, their curiosity about the
universe, or their strong faith even when faced with harrowing experiences that
no one could ever want to undergo. Pursifull and Smith find the courage to make
themselves vulnerable; to revisit emotions and traumas in these works that
ordinary people would shun. They speak the unspeakable in the World of Wet from
the breathtaking beauty of "Remembering Tomorrow" to the brutality of life which
leaves its readers an aftertaste that is like exquisite champagne.
-© Marie Mamaril, Editor, 2002
