Introduction

Sometimes it is difficult to talk about what you have done in your work and why, especially when it concerns such an enigmatic topic as the moon. No matter what astronomers say about it, for poets and artists the moon has always remained a living creature, mysterious and mesmerizing, that watches over their dreams and determines the flux of their inspiration, even as it determines the ebb and flow of the tides. At this point Lunar Rhapsody is not a collection of isolated poems, but rather an uninterrupted myth of the moon, cosmos, and human soul. All parts of the collection – from the cycle of the same name to “Blue Beard” – grow from that myth. To read the myth, however, one should have his own “key” because, like the moon itself, the myth is composed of various “faces” that touch upon different sides of the lunar kingdom, including the dark ones. It is not my intention, though, to define what the myth of the Lunar Rhapsody is, because in each reader the melody of the rhapsody should sound different. After all, everyone has his unique relationship with the universe…

                                                                                                    V. Ulea

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Excerpts from a brief essay dedicated to V. Ulea

by whose book of poems, Lunar Rhapsody,

this fanciful, inspirational piece was originally inspired

Joe M. Ruggier, Publisher

            Among the names of distinguished artists who have contributed works of art about the moon and moon­light — amongst whom we now count V. Ulea with her current collection Lunar Rhapsody — are those of Beethoven, Sir Philip Sidney, Shelley, and countless others: I am sure that, were we to count all the references to the Moon, used as a symbol of romance and spiritual endeavor, in Literature, Music and visual art, the list would be endless …

            I am fascinated by art about the Moon.  I find it profoundly stirring. Consider the emotional impact of the Moon, and of Moonlight, used as an image of romance and endeavour, upon the soul of countless artists down the centuries!  Read this gorgeous addition to the literature by V. Ulea and, rather than your barren scientific equations, absorb the beauty of a touchstone of taste such as the following …

During the tides,

When the moon floods the ocean,

And the fish rock the stars on their fins,

The painted angel walks, having no notion

About the fall, and the righteous life, and sins.

                                                       Joe M. Ruggier, Publisher

                                                       Richmond, B.C.

                                                       January 21, 2007