Cristina M. R. Norcross - Featured Author at the 2014 Fox Cities Book Festival

Poet Cristina M. R. Norcross will be one of the featured speakers at the Fox Cities Book Festival on April 13, 2014 in Appleton, WI.

Come meet the author from 1-2:30pm at the Atlas Coffee Mill Cafe, Boutique and Gallery, where she will be one of three guest authors speaking about the topic of art and poetry.  Cristina will be signing copies of her latest book, Living Nature's Moments (co-authored by photographer Patricia Bashford), as well as copies of her books, Unsung Love Songs and The Red Drum.

Atlas Coffee Mill
425 W Water Street #100
Appleton, WI 54911
Contact Info
Phone: 920-734-6871
Web site: http://www.atlascoffeemill.com/

Cristina M. R. Norcross is the author of Land & Sea: Poetry Inspired by Art (2007), The Red Drum (2008, 2013), Unsung Love Songs (2010) and The Lava Storyteller (2013).  Her works appear in North American and international journals, such as The Toronto Quarterly, Red Cedar, Your Daily Poem and The Nervous Breakdown.  Featured in the BVAG show, ARTiculate (2011, 2012), Cristina's work also appears in the anthologies, Contemporary Women’s Literature (2007), Verse & Vision (2011, 2012) and Sounds of Solace (2013).  She was the co-editor for the project One Vision: A Fusion of Art & Poetry in Lake Country (2009-11) and is currently one of the co-organizers of Random Acts of Poetry & Art Day.  Cristina is a contributing member for the Art Ambush Project.  Cristina is also the founding editor of the online poetry journal, Blue Heron Review.  Find out more about this author at: www.FirkinFiction.com. 

Review Quotes: Unsung Love Songs

Quotes From a Book Review of Unsung Love Songs
Reviewed by Kathleen Serley

(July 2011 Issue of Verse Wisconsin Online)



“But it is her descriptions of love in those everyday moments that draw us in.”



“One of the strengths of Norcross’s love poems is the imagery she creates to capture the depth of the love she feels.”



“Each poem in this collection has a special appeal, but “These Things Matter” captures the essence of this collection. We reach for love and must remind ourselves to find it in ordinary moments as they come to us in our imperfect lives. We make love happen in the everyday events of our lives.”



“How fortunate to know such love to inspire her poems. Unsung Love Songs by Cristina M.R. Norcross is worth remembering.”

*Read the full review in Verse Wisconsin Online (July 2011)

Taking Poetry to the Next Level ~ Multi-Media: Listen to and Watch My Latest Poems

Watch a multi-media film featuring my poem, "Why I Love You," from the book Unsung Love Songs. This film was created by artist, Jennifer S. Peña, and provides the viewer with a voice recording of my poem, a musical background and images that float across the screen.

Check it out by clicking HERE.

Why I Love You … in 35 Words


Breath, beyond which my hands extend,
is where you live.

Only you are safe,
when my moods mingle with cloudbursts.

Your acoustic guitar fills the house with music,
leaving no corner without joy’s pure sound.


Cristina M. R. Norcross
(from the book Unsung Love Songs, Feb. 2010)
Copyright 2009
*****

Listen to my poem "Waiting to Swim" right now! Click HERE


Waiting to Swim


The hotel room is empty,
save for our mess of clothes.
You are already deep in conference.
I can no longer keep the cleaning ladies at bay,
so I gather up solo essentials
and take my place by the concrete pool.

The days are hot and open in The Bahamas –
spread out like white flames on wheat.
I imagine your pen scratching paper,
while I read –
adjusting my shades
and this unforgiving bathing suit.

There is no escaping the floor to ceiling fish tank.
Marine life follows me through the lobby –
my pacing in time with aquatic circles.
Night settles with quiet steps.
The door opens,
and our solitary days join
into a jagged puzzle
of business and vacation.


Cristina M. R. Norcross
Copyright 2009
www.FirkinFiction.com
Unsung Love Songs (Forthcoming, Feb. 2010)
*****


Watch words bounce and glide as meaning finds its focus in the short visual clip featuring my poem "The Red Drum" from the book of the same title. Film created by John Norcross.

Click HERE


The Red Drum
(Inspired by the writing of Stanley Kunitz)


Your heart – a red drum.
Taut leather bound
to the infinite shape of a circle,
seeks the music of other beating hearts.

Sound changes,
when a strong wind blows,
when the leather is rain-soaked,
when the sun makes the circle
jump into the light.

“I made this,”
says the drum.
Dreams take shape in the air,
with each, bellowing note.
“Now change it by living,”
says the drum’s stick.
Sing a new song.
“Truth –
Of thee I sing.”

Many more layers of change
bring syncopated rhythms,
ballads of longing,
and newly discovered voices.

Your heart is a red drum –
now crimson with passion,
tomorrow the sun makes it pink –
a tender, summer rose.
Sing your transformation to the world.
Beat the drum.
Beat the drum.
Beat the drum.

Cristina M. R. Norcross
Copyright 2008
The Red Drum (Nov. 2008)

Unsung Love Songs by Cristina M. R. Norcross * Book Launch Party * February 6th, 2010

Book Launch Party and Poetry Open Mic at Artavina Gallery for local author Cristina Norcross. Celebrate Unsung Love Songs on Sat., Feb. 6th from 7-9pm!


Local author Cristina Norcross of Oconomowoc, Wisconsin has her third book, Unsung Love Songs, coming out in February 2010. Come join us on Sat., February 6th from 7-9pm at The Artavina Gallery, managed by artist Kathy Boritzke, 378 Main St. in Waukesha, WI. We will be showcasing an evening of poetry, art and live music in an innovative, eclectic gallery setting. We will kick off the evening with live music by Nick Scholz and Shino Ishioka. Intermission will feature the ukulele stylings of special guest, Eric Raskopf. Cristina Norcross will give a reading from her new book, Unsung Love Songs, with a poetry open mic to follow. All are welcome. Get your name on the list to share your love poems. We will also have a fine wine and gourmet chocolate tasting at intermission, so come with eager ears for poetry and taste buds at the ready! To bring greater awareness to heart health this Valentine’s Day, we will be collecting donations for the American Heart Association at this event. ALL proceeds from book sales of Unsung Love Songs at this event will go directly to the AHA. Please come with a heart full of enthusiasm and support.

Cristina Norcross is a freelance writer and poet living in Lake Country with her husband and their two sons. She has had numerous works published in literary magazines in the United States, England, Wales, Canada and Algeria. Ms. Norcross is the author of Land & Sea: Poetry Inspired by Art (2007) and The Red Drum (2008). She is the co-editor of The Lake Country Project for Artists and Poets. This latest collection, Unsung Love Songs, celebrates the quiet, every day moments of love and how the recognition of this deep, abiding calmness can be the heart’s biggest flourish of all.
For more information about this author, please visit her website: www.FirkinFiction.com.

Where’s the love? Bring your poems with the theme of love found, love lost, love regained – love in all of its varied, wondrous forms. Please RSVP to Cristina Norcross at author@firkinfiction.com to get your name on the poetry open mic list in advance. The order will be based on the earliest e-mails received, so reserve your spot today!

For more information about this event, please contact Kathy Boritzke at the Artavina Gallery in Waukesha, WI: 328 W Main St.