Explorations: Poems of My Inner and Outer Worlds

Inspired by images from the natural world, the poems in this book celebrate many aspects of life, expressing feelings of wonder, whimsy, joy, inspiration, curiosity and contentment, as well as occasional sorrow, grief and regret. They were composed between 1982 and 1989 by artist Doris Crowley, who, at the time, was halfway through a 22-year career as a journalist for the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Delaware-a job that involved writing media releases and other articles to publicize the college's many research and education programs. Gathering information for these releases involved frequent trips throughout that small state in every season and in all kinds of weather--drives that enabled her to become intimately familiar with its richly varied environment. She also drew inspiration from the natural surroundings of her modest home on the outskirts of the college town of Newark, DE.

Thematically, the author's freestyle verses fall into two categories-1) celebrations of that outer world and 2) thoughts on aspects of her personal inner world. In both cases, she used graphic imagery from the outer world as metaphors to express feelings and explore the meaning of these worlds and the meaning of life.