Book excerpt: Seeking Center, A collection of Poems is a mandala of one writer's consciousness. Informed by a love of art, nature and a vivid dream life, Joan Gelfand's first poetry collection is a deciphering of the mysterious signs encountered on the road of life. The collection is in four sections. In "Museum Pieces" we are taken into a world where the visual arts are read not for technical ability but for overall effect and meaning. "Music/Dream Series" delights the imagination with a series of dreams about music and love. "Heritage" explores family ties and inter-generational connections. In the final section, "In the World," Joan shares real world experiences born of exotic travels and the simple adventures of daily living in a voice that is both accessible and inspiring."Joan Gelfand's poems are simultaneously accessible and complex a rare combination." They are the record of a consciousness which remains alive to its own struggles and contradictions and which seeks to recreate the author's deep Jewish heritage: "a music of Diaspora, a music of wandering, a music of passion and yearning," yet also, "a music of joy." ("The Rider")."That these edgy poems avoid sentimentality is a testimony not only to Ms. Gelfand's 'metronomic irregularity' ("Two Poems for Eva Hesse") her insistence that meaning is primary but to the sharp, jagged, always intelligent quality of her awareness: 'One hand, one fragment, one piece of nothing,/Taking the hand of the other, and leading.' ("Collage Poem.") Jack Foley, poet/author (Books include: "Some Songs by Georges Brassens," "O Powerful Western Star," "New Poetry from California: Dead/Requiem.") Mr. Foley is the host of a weekly radio program, "Cover to Cover/World Literature" aired on KPFA."An amazing collection! A rare opportunity to gaze into the poet's soul through the window of her work."Joan Reinhardt Reiss, Environmental Health Advocate"Exuberance, a true emotional honesty and a light touch with humor kept me reading Ms. Gelfand's poems. The energetic spirit of the poems give swing, and swirl to the form." Zoketsu Norman Fischer, poet/author/teacher, and former Abbott of the San Francisco Zen Center. Mr. Fischer's books include "Jerusalem Moonlight," "Taking our Places," and "the Psalms" founder "Everyday Zen Meditation Center.""Ms. Gelfand's universe is wide, encompassing the parallel worlds of dreams and life lived in a fast-changing world. With a poet's eye and a seeker's intention, Gelfand teases out the sacred, the beauty, and the humor in her experience as a dreamer, an artist, a mother."Dr. Debra Condren, Ph.D., Founder: Women's Business Alliance, President, Manhattan Business Coaching, author, "Naked Ambition."