Walk on the Heart Side

            Allow me to highlight just a few of the poems (not that you need to be told about the poems, but I need to talk about them). 'In the Garden' is a delightful Edenic romp. It works because we know 'the story' and we recognize the innocuous choice of apple changes the course of human history. Levokove captures that innocent (or not so) decision and leaves the poem at just the right moment for the reader to absorb the consequences personally.  'Italian Holiday' is another poem that is quite evocative. The imagery here is strong, where the 'miasma of streetlamps' sets the stage for the temporariness of love. The comparison of the lovers to pale noodles and their affections to Chinese food is both playful and profound. The startling quality of the image makes one reconsider the quality that is being explored and connected. The pleasant irony in 'No Man Is an Island' catches me off-guard. The comparison to the lover’s wakening to the movement of the sun evokes a languid satisfaction that eradicates any sense of isolation. The titular poem ends the collection well, because the final line, 'let’s walk on the heart side,' reflects exactly what the reader has done in reading through to the end of the book."

                                                                     STAN GALLOWAY, Professor of English

                                                                     Bridgewater College - Bridgewater, VA 22812

"This book is a court where memory and desire come to play and take turns as they bow to each other, teach each other the rules of the game, make poetic form a revelation of human insight. I enjoyed reading these poems."
                                                                    ILYA KAMINSKY, Poet
                                                                    - Dancing in Odessa
                                                                    - Ecco Anthology of International Poetry
                                                                    - Co-Founder-Poets for Peace
                                                                    - Professor-Master of Fine Arts Program in
                                                                             Creative Writing, San Diego State University



"Linda Levokove remembers. Her poetry is a sensuous journey into memories that flutter forth with present immediacy. 'We slept, curled like the pale noodles that had fallen on the terrazzo floor.' The imagery in her poetry is soft and sumptuous, a reminder of why we write poetry. She openly shares with her readers soft secrets that delight the senses. Highly recommended for those who have forgotton, or don't want to ever forget what it means to be human, to desire something or someone, and to be alive with emotion that must ultimately spill forth in words."

                                                                    JACK TRAMMELL, Author
                                                                    - Down on the Chickahominy: 
                                                                           The Life and Times of a Vanishing Virginia River
                                                                    - Professor, Randolph-Macon College, Ashland, VA
                                                                    - President, Blue Ridge Chapter VWC