"Falling into Flowers invokes a powerful sense of history sculpted with tender, goose-bump evoking details, depicting the South in the 1950s and '60s and the Haight-Ashbury commune scene after the Summer of Love. This book is a journey from marshes of grief into flats full of idealistic hippies in the City of St. Francis in the '70s and '80s… and twenty-five years beyond. Along the way, the author witnesses some of the events that helped shape this era of The Flower Generation. Lynne Barnes writes poems that sing like ballads. Her language is gorgeous and devastating."
—Diane Frank, Author of Blackberries in the Dream House
“Lynne Barnes’ writing is intensely empathetic; she’s a wounded healer to an orbit of beautiful broken souls. In her book, she’s a hearth keeper to her life stories, stories that intersect with San Francisco, commune living, same sex love, and social justice; every poem burns with an unwavering hope.”
—Scott Caputo, Author of Holy Trinity of Chiles
Amazing to be able to tell a life story in clear and beautiful poetry, but here it is. A profound and deeply felt journey from the deep South of ʻ40-50s Georgia through the hippie ʻ60s, years in a San Francisco communal cult, coming out, a testament to the civil rights and human liberation movements of our times, and much more.
Eve Furchgott, Illustrator, The Naughty 'Elepaio
https://reviews-and-ramblings.dreamwidth.org/5190667.html2017 Rainbow 🌈Awards Best Gay & Lesbian Poetry
1) An absolutely gorgeous collection of poems that paint vivid pictures of specific moments in time and space—both in American culture, and in the poet’s own life. The style reminds me of the beat poets—spare and raw, with every word conveying a world of meaning—and many of the poems touch a time in American history that is very dear to me. This is a wonderful collection, and very worth your time.
2) Rich settings. I have added points for excellent formatting and organization of the work.
3) Each poem wove a different story and I found myself pulled into each one. It was like I was sitting in a room listening to an old Grandma recall events from her past. I really enjoyed the read.
