Rain Violent

Book excerpt: Poetry. Ann Spiers' RAIN VIOLENT views the earth and its creatures in crisis. Each page holds one short poem paired with a weather symbol. The symbols inject the poems with a depth, a counterpoint, a link to specific climate phenomena. The sixty poems are essentially about climate crisis: political, mythical, surrealistic, scientific, personal. Animals, humans, and the natural and built landscapes create the content. Point of view and narrator shift from poem to poem, migrating through past, present and future scenarios. Tone also shifts from lyrical to strident, objective to personal, humor to tragedy.The weather symbols create tensions within a run of poems, such as "Drizzle Slight," "Drizzle Heavy," "Drizzle Heavy Freezing." Citizen scientists and aeronautical professionals use these symbols, gleaned from the International Weather Symbols, on weather maps to denote conditions at local weather stations. Artist Bolinas Frank hand painted the symbols to emulate those hand drawn at the weather stations worldwide.