Blood Harmony

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Music is the motif, the pulse, of these poems. From Americana, Folk, and Bluegrass, to Country, Gospel, Blues, and Rock, Blood Harmony potently depicts the interconnectedness of musical genres. From Emmylou Harris, Loretta Lynn, Jean Ritchie, Ricky Skaggs, and Guy Clark, to Aretha Franklin, Percy Sledge, Etta James, Wilson Pickett, and Otis Redding, musical legends abound, "with the list of greats growing almost as long as the story of music, of life, itself." Music also becomes the larger motif highlighting how interconnected we all are; whether "creek, brook, or stream," Austin believes everyone is "water from the same source." Writing of her years singing blood harmony with her brother in foster care and tracing her kin's roots back to Scotland and Ireland, Austin poignantly invites us to sojourn with her on an odyssey that, while elegiac, is less requiem than it is a paean to hope.