{"product_id":"a-conspiracy-of-blackbirds-paperback","title":"A Conspiracy of Blackbirds - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eTerri Cohlene\u003c\/b\u003e (Author), \u003cb\u003eLana Hechtman Ayers\u003c\/b\u003e (Managing Editor)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTerri Cohlene has crafted a book of surprises in her debut poetry collection, \u003cem\u003eA Conspiracy of Blackbirds\u003c\/em\u003e. The wide ranging poems are contained only by the boundaries of her life experiences and imagination. The poem \"On the Table\" has a massage therapist attempting to knead away a smattering of adversaries inhabiting her past: from ex-husband to childhood bully to a mother \"lodged like a lizard \/ around my sternum-\" The poems are poignant, laugh out-loud clever, and above all, insightful and touching. She dives deep into her relationship with her estranged mother, a woman who was abused and abandoned by her own mother, who in turn repeated that script with her daughter. For those of us wounded souls who came from rocky beginnings, Terri's voice is a kindred spirit, sorting difficult truths on love and rejection, childhood and aging (with disease) that many of us will find all too familiar. Even so, Terri's poetry is witty and accessible. Her use of language is tight and clean: in the poem \"The Ocean Pours Out\" (one of my favorites), she writes of a high school gymnasium orchestral concert conducted by her daughter: \"I make my nest [on the bleachers] in the midst of magpies, \/ a clutch of chatter about bake sales and raffle \/ tickets... and whether that really \/ was Coach Sweeney making out with the president \/ of the PTA last night behind the Dairy Queen.\" \u003cem\u003eA Conspiracy of Blackbirds\u003c\/em\u003e is a master class in self exploration while looking at one's life in the rearview. I highly recommend it.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e-Patrick Dixon, author of \u003cem\u003eWaiting to Deliver \u003c\/em\u003eand\u003cem\u003e Mending Holes\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTerri Cohlene's \u003cem\u003eA Conspiracy of Blackbirds \u003c\/em\u003echronicles how one woman breaks free from a multi-generational cycle of abandonments to reach for the sky in a transformative murmuration of stunning flight. This collection is nothing short of an uplifting triumph of spirit and strength as only poetry can deliver.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e- Sandra Yannone, \u003cem\u003eFire at the Big Top\u003c\/em\u003e, and Host, Cultivating Voices LIVE Poetry\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 96\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.23 x 9 x 6 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e May 01, 2026\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53344479740211,"sku":"9781970256086","price":28.58,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0300\/5595\/6612\/files\/k3jpMWATAn9781970256086.webp?v=1778725721","url":"https:\/\/www.vysn.com\/en-ca\/products\/a-conspiracy-of-blackbirds-paperback","provider":"VYSN","version":"1.0","type":"link"}