Category Archives: essays

Baby Boomers Write About the Soundtrack of Their Lives

For quite a few years now, the joke has gone something like this: If you remember the Sixties you weren’t there.

Fair enough in some ways, we suppose.

But then there’s the music. No doubt like the music of every generation, the soundtrack of our lives was largely shaped in our early years and continues today to evoke memories and transport us back to the unforgettable moments of our youth.

Or, as the title poem in WHAT BUT THE MUSIC puts it:

“What but the music might have orchestratedforgotten revolutions and unforgettable kisses?What but the music underscored every presumedtriumph and defeat, drew us into church basementsand into cheap apartments in bad neighborhoods,ripped down walls, egged us on, played us out?”

In WHAT BUT THE MUSIC: Baby Boomers Write About the Soundtrack of Their Lives scores of talented writers explore that soundtrack, artist by artist, and song by song. And, through the magic of YouTube and other similar sites, each poem and personal essay includes a suggested link (we call it “The Jukebox”) to the music itself, the perfect accompaniment to the writing.

You can try it out here.

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Filed under Books, essays, Music, Poetry

From the Eric Hoffer Book Awards:

“What Remains: The Many Ways We Say Goodbye An Anthology, Sandi Gelles-Cole and Kenneth Salzmann (editors), Gelles-Cole Literary Enterprises – Who knew that as many ways as humans are unique so are the ways they say goodbye to those they loved. This anthology of accomplished writers from all over the world shares how people mark that final passage. What compels a person to be buried in a mushroom suit to help with decomposing the body as a green solution? How does a creatively carved casket become ones last gift? These stories of final farewell will resonate.”https://www.amazon.com/…/173358…/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0…

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Filed under Books, essays, funerals, grief, loss, memorials, Poetry

A perfect gift for Grandparents Day 9/13

It was at this time ten years ago that Gelles-Cole LIterary Enterprises released its first anthology, CHILD OF MY CHILD, a collection of poems and essays by some 60 accomplished writers exploring both the contemporary and timeless themes of grandparenthood in the 21st century.
Why at this time of year? Because the first Sunday after Labor Day is always Grandparents Day–that’s Sunday, September 13, this year.

We thought when it first came out that CHILD OF MY CHILD would make a great gift for discerning grandparents, and past decade has borne out that assumption. After ten years, it remains a fresh and timely anthology for the grandpparents you want to celebrate!

Cover Child of My ChildAnd here’s some background on the holiday.

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Filed under Books, essays, grandfather, grandmother, grandparents, Poetry