| "Drown Proofing" is a collection of poetry and prose that chronicles Jolyn M. Lee's journey of discovering her voice as a writer. The pieces it this manuscript span approximately twenty years, beginning in the late 1980s in Hawaii. The poetry and prose in this collection explore various traditional and nontraditional roles of women (granddaughter, daughter, friend, enemy, wife, mother, student, teacher). The writer uses a patchwork-piecing motif in which poetry and prose are layered andjuxtaposed with each other, "Pieces upon pieces, scraps of memory, swirling outward in rippling patterns and waves." The major themes and issues visited in this manuscript are truth and memory, voices and silences, and drowning and drown proofing. "Drown proofing is not about becoming an Olympic 100 meter butterfly champion. Drown proofing is about having the skills to keep your head above water---the skills necessary not to drown."... |
