The Daily Sauce :: A Daily Sip of Hip

July 8th, 2008 edition of The Daily Sauce: Entertainment. Visit Our Entertainment Archive.

Blue Muse

Nothing’s more moving than a love poem, and no one moves better than a dancer. So it should be no surprise that Patrick J. Cole’s new book Tangoed Up & Blue is so irresistible.

Cole’s lovely verse and short reflections on “love, death and dancing” are accompanied by artwork from local talent Barbara Merlotti, who just so happens to be Cole’s sister-in-law. After two decades, she was aware of his dance skills, but only found out a couple years ago that he wrote poetry: “When I read some of his stuff I was blown away. I encouraged him to write more.” And apparently he listened, because last summer she was invited to illustrate his collection.

For inspiration, Merlotti said she focused on the feeling of each poem and researched to find images that went with their themes. Then she manipulated the images both digitally and by hand (with chalk pastels or colored inks) to create the final pieces. For example, the poem First Love is accompanied by a newborn sleeping blissfully and New Love is illustrated by a couple nestled together in the front seat of the car with nothing in front of them but an open stretch of highway.

What: Tangoed Up & Blue by Patrick J. Cole, artwork by Barbara Merlotti
Cost: $9.95
Where to get it: Click here to purchase.

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