Paperlight

by Claudia McGhee

$14.99, paper

Anticipation suspended in the moment before the first kiss. A mother singing to her unborn child. Lovemaking. A child exploring a playground. The aftermath of an argument. The poems in Claudia McGhees Paperlight invite you into the everyday connections that form, exist, and dissolve between parent and child, lovers, friends. Even though love has no physical weight, and is, in fact, paperlight, these poems share the lived experiences that reveal the infinite weight of loves touch, and its inescapable imprint in our lives.

Claudia McGhee has been a writer since 8th grade, experimenting with every genre, and has spent much of her adult writing life working on poetry. She is currently an active member of the Thread City Poets, Willimantic, CT, and has recently read at the Springfield City Librarys Literary Arts Spotlight program. Claudia has studied poetry and fiction writing with Jerome Badanes, Billy Collins, Carolyn Forch, Dana Gioia, Jewelle Gomez, Marie Howe, Kate Knapp Johnson, Galway Kinnell, Thomas Lux, Dr. Marc Straus, and Paul Violi. Claudias poems have appeared in Aileron, Asylum Annual, Connecticut River Review, Dutchess Anthology, Fresh Ink, Impetus, Let the Poets Speak, Lunch, The Nimham Times Magazine, Primal Voices, Putnam Poets anthologies, Slipstream, White Plains H.O.G. News, White Pond Reflections, and Zephyr. By day, Claudia is a software technical writer who designs, implements, writes and delivers single-source topic libraries for enterprise systems, and contributes to every activity relevant to explaining those systems. She has worked as an employee and consultant for large and small companies, including IBM Corporation, SunGard iWORKS P&C (US) Inc. (aka Insurance Software and Systems, Inc.),1-800FLOWERS.COM, Donald Grenier Corporation, Centric Consulting LLC, Adecco Engineering & Technology, and Hallmark Total Tech Inc. She is currently employed by Optum Inc. in Hartford, CT as an information designer and technical writer. Claudia grew up on Long Island and graduated from SUNY Geneseo. Before moving to Connecticut, Claudia was the Poet in Residence and Executive Administrator of the Putnam Poets at the Putnam Arts Council in Mahopac, NY for four years. As Executive Administrator, she managed the groups various activities, including: facilitating the bi-monthly peer workshops, making arrangements for mentored workshops, setting up audienceparticipation poetry readings in libraries and local parks, and inviting guest poets to read. She handled all of the groups public relations needs and wrote the grants required to obtain necessary funding. While living in Mahopac, Claudia wrote the weekly Writers Spotlight column for the Putnam Courier-Trader Newspaper, contributed material to Guide Communications Getting-To- Know publications, and was a volunteer grant writer for local organizations. In addition to being a mother, mate, and employee, Claudia has edited Dr. Edmond Chibeaus Performance Scripts: Prime Numbers published by Red Dust, Inc. New York. She has also provided copy editing and eBook conversion services for Larry E. Zimmermans series of Amston Lake books.