MOMENCE, Ill., April 30, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- It is said that poets are the means through which human emotions are recorded and remembered. They encompass the worlds where they reside and the times they live. Tony Bethel agrees. His new collection of poetry, Before Forty, After 9/11: Poems From the Heart (Land) (now available through 1stBooks Library), reflects the current times through verse and a poet's eye of observation.
"When the poets cease to write, the world will be very dull, the stars shall fall from out the sky and mere mortals shall wonder why?" Bethel writes in his poem, "When the Poets Cease to Write."
Bethel's poetry is a reflection of the times and the uncertainty and questions that surrounds the post Sept. 11, 2001 world. Chronicling three decades of living into his various poems, he covers thoughts on religion, romance, race, politics, death, family and other general musings that most poets are known for. Bethel says that his poems are about transition, a state that people find themselves in many times throughout their lives. He says he writes to express and share what he is feeling with the world as well as understand his own growth from one writing to the next. With poems that are positive and upbeat to the more reflective and somber, Before Forty, After 9/11 holds something for any reader.
"Although it speaks from a Black perspective there is something in the book for everyone. There is a certain universality to the poems to impress upon the reader that we are all connected and we are all God's children," Bethel states.
Bethel has been writing poetry since he was 10. His first book was entitled Love is a Butterfly, which was a collection of poems dealing with the various types and stages of love and relationships. Bethel attended the University of Illinois where he earned a bachelor's degree in psychology. A member of the Navy for nine years, Bethel served in the first Persian Gulf War. He now works in an institution enriching the lives of the developmentally disabled and has three children of his own. Before Forty, After 9/11 was written to reflect on the past 40 years of his life.
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