Publisher's Synopsis
The poems and paintings presented by Dean Glorso in "In Search of the Laughing Place" arise from yearnings and recollections, some nostalgic and harking back to childhood, others connecting to history and the circumstances of a veteran's homecoming. Together the poems and iconic paintings are often complementary; and offer us admission and transit through the author's lifetime journey in the form of lyric narrative poems supported by original art, a work that blends empathy, irony and pathos.
The reoccuring themes for resolution in this fine, engaging book brings light upon the past, including stories of family and those lost in conflict. The central theme of longing and homecoming is best exemplified when the author returns to a place frequented by him and his friends while growing up in Keenyville, Illinois. However, the "Laughing Place " of the title is more than a search for a physical environment. Both the poems and evocative paintings become our compass pointing the way to an ideal; perhaps now lost as it once was, but one that is still very real in our memory, and held permanent in our hearts and minds.
To Dean Glorso, laughter is as important to the mind of mankind as nourishment from food is to the human body. "In Search of the Laughing Place" takes us on a verbal and visual journey to a place of the heart. Sometimes the journey to laughter is not direct, but through our experiences in life we must draw ourselves to the "Laughing Place" we crave. Dean Glorso's book of poems and paintings unleashes thoughts and emotions needed to remind us that laughter is good for the soul.
