The Art of Gladness, by Peter J. Lautz

Poetry, chapbook, 36 pages, from Bottlecap Features.

This first chapbook is a collection of 27 poems describing the poet’s relationship to the natural world, his passionate orientation to life (see “birthday prayer” and “Old Time Religion”), meaningful friendships (“Doctor My Eyes”) and extended family ties as in the poems “The Voyage” and “Painted Cave” where ancestors are evoked.

His savoring of small experiences comes through in poems such as “Graced” and “Life of Riley” where there’s an intention to slow down and notice the world around him. A playfulness abounds here as well in “Evidently” where it seems God or the gods may have forgotten something in that first week of creation. Overall, the collection is a hopeful, sometimes rascally and authentic exploration of the “beautiful mundane”.

Peter has published one book of poetry Still, Life and has had many poems placed in The San Diego Poetry Anthology, San Diego Writers’ INK anthology, The Happy Hour Review, and was awarded a prize for his poem “Graced” in the San Diego Reader newspaper. Besides writing, he enjoys hiking and exploring nearby canyons and foothills, relaxing with his wonderful partner, meandering conversations with friends, time with his adult children and 3 grandkids and painting with copious color in an abstract style as well as various social-justice causes/constructive actions.