Appear to Dance, Appear to Dance

“In Appear to Dance, Linda Kleinbub vividly captures the isolation, uncertainty, and necessary search for small pleasures we all experienced during the pandemic. Moving from personal to collective loss, this book abounds with poignant prayers, practical advice, and often playful lists. There is suffering, but also savoring -- flowers and music – ‘A rock and roll party in my garden.’ To read this work reawakens a sense of gratitude and appreciation.”—Elaine Equi, author of The Intangibles“‘Inside every torment is a reason to survive,’ Kleinbub writes in her new book, Appear to Dance, poems written during the COVID lockdown. After her own bout with the virus, working in her garden, reconnecting senses to her brain, giving flavor back to texture when flavor has left, listening closer to a sparrow’s song, or practicing how to stand up straight again, these poems are accounts of daily lessons learned. This book is a survival kit and therein lies its gift.”—Don Yorty, author of Spring Sonnets“Linda Kleinbub’s poems chronicle her pandemic journey. They share her story of fatigue, worry, and how she ‘learned to carry her (my) bones’ through it all. Linda’s poems tell us of a place beyond her symptoms, and realities of COVID, where beauty exists. Her poems are about life, where there is ‘moonlight in flowerpots’, tulips ‘unearthing chlorophyll’, and where ‘a sparrow’s song fills the sky’. Appear to Danceis poetry as memoir, at its best!”—Paula Curci, Nassau County Poet Laureate“Spring bursts through quarantine; relationships, love, music and gardens take on special meaning. Constellations dance; the poet yearns for her beloved, and ponders whether it is ‘worth dying for a good loaf of bread?’ ‘Can anybody feel me?’ she asks. As the virus rages around, the answer is a resounding ‘yes’ as we enter into Kleinbub’s rich and vivid pandemic world.”—Larissa Shmailo, author of Dora/Lora.From the Author: When the lockdown for the COVID pandemic was announced in March 2020, I sensed that we were embarking on a time of new trials and discovery. I decided to write every day. It was early spring in New York City and as an avid gardener, I focused on nature’s rebirth with a meticulous eye. I contracted COVID in February 2021 at a time when the vaccine was beginning to roll out and being offered to senior citizens and members of the population who were considered “high-risk.” My symptoms changed from day to day. Overall, I spent weeks in bed and feel like my health never returned to the level it was pre-COVID. Writing every day during this time allowed me to tune into the world with a conscious awareness, which I believed helped me comprehend this difficult time. Read this book and travel back to this transformative time in history.