Product Details:

This first collection was started in 2004, and written over the course of a year spent off and on touring in the company of Alanis Morissette.

It became a habit for me to break out the leather bound journal and pencil whenever a quiet moment presented itself. Even when dog tired, if the call was heard, it was answered. But this book is not a snapshot.

Some poems were written from experience, some from empathy, and some from an emotional reserve tank that I was unaware I had.

Some flowed in minutes and others in days. I hope the reader will find some resonance in at least one part of this book, and making a connection is all that I can aspire to.

If it seems there are many poems in this book that are linked to flying, it’s no co-incidence.
I, unlike many it seems, look forward to commercial flights. Whereas many are uncomfortable with the abdication of control in their lives that flying today involves, I welcome a rare opportunity to abandon responsibility for a few hours and let my mind roam freely and creatively.

Alanis Morissette has often unwittingly provided a creative impetus when I have been flagging, she has always been encouraging, and for that she has my thanks. I don’t think many contemporary artists still realise the value of the lyric in song-writing, but she is definitely one.

A nod to Patrick Fitzgerald of the legendary Kitchens of Distinction for the book title,
and a shout out to Paddy McAloon from Prefab Sprout. Way back in 1984, on his first album, he put it all so succinctly for me…..

“Words are trains……
for moving through what
really has no name.”

I'M NOT A BOY NAMED SIOUX.
I'M THE KID WHO GREW UP
WITH THE WEIRD LAST NAME.
I CAN'T PLAY PIANO, OR SPANISH GUITAR.
I'M NOT THE DARK SLENDER BOY.
I TRADED ALL MY DUSTY PLAYGROUND BULLIES
FOR THIS DRY CONCRETE AND WET FOOTSTEPS.
FOR GAUGES READING "NOT DONES" AND "MISSED MOMENTS",
FOR SERIAL CIRCUMSTANCE,
FOR RAYS OF JOY IN MY ARMS,
FOR THIS SIDEBAR SONNET,
FOR QUOTIDIEN DIPLOMACY,
WRITTEN UP IN "LOVED ME'S"
AND "LOVED ME NOTS".

If life really is a bowl of cherries, then we would all get several bites,
But the bites we take, never seem to balance things up.
All our lives are about balance.
Grains of truth, pinches of salt, mothers and fathers, reality and perception.
Poems are just words, but our expression is a fulcrum.
Take what you can from these poems, and find your own balance.

What Others Are Saying About This Book:

One of those poets to read now,
Amazon—June 25, 2005: Annie (England)
Varied and sensitive is how I would describe this collection of poems by J. A Proudfoot. Often they reach into your very being as if he were writing from your experience, putting words to your hopes, fears, passions and disappointments. I look forward to more......

Travel and the Journeyman,
Amazon—July 7, 2005: N. M. Taylor
This is powerful poetry that makes the reader feel more alive and less alone through the haunting recognition of its narrative. He writes about topics universally experienced - love, lust, death, separation, mourning,self acceptance, guilt and fear, with each poem looking for its part in the infinite existence of time. The analogy here of flight, of human interplay with distance and time is demonstrated in many of the poems, as the author weaves observation, thought and analysis into his original and stimulating perspectives.

Kaleidoscope of Poetic Pictures......,
Amazon—July 5, 2005—Jessica Matthews (New England)
Sometimes we are impressed and surprised by the high quality work of a new name in the world of poetry, and so it is with "One of those Sometimes is Now" . J A Proudfoot transports you through a kaleidoscope of multidimensional pictures - travels, experiences, emotions, passions, hopes and dreams - images in which you can truly identify. The collection also poses many challenges and questions we all face in our 21st century busy lives. This poetry is inspiring and I fully recommend it.