ISBN: 9780984014255 (Print) $12.00
Speech of the Masquerade is a collection of poetry unmasking the rawness of human emotions. The collection deals with issues which hit close to home and are close to the heart. Speech of the Masquerade is about the sharing of stories, unveiling the beauty of the soul, and the unmasking of self. The poems depict the world view of a young poet who uses experiences both personal and observed; whether the viewing is through the media lens or sheer perceptive observation. This fresh new voice offers much to the literary landscape. From the raves and reviews received Driscoll is a newcomer to watch.
About the Author
Driscoll is a multi-award winner of the Poetry Matters Literary Prize and has published work in Poetry Matters Anthology (P.R.A. Publishing 2011) and Poetry Diversified an Anthology of Human Experience (P.R.A. Publishing 2013), Poetry Diversified 2015 (PRA Publishing). Her work has also been published in Furman University’s literary magazine, The Echo. In addition to writing poetry, Driscoll has written three novels, yet to be published for NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month. Speech of the Masquerade is her first full length solo work to be published.
Praise For Speech of the Masquerade
Speech of the Masquerade is by turns melodramatic, playful, and angstridden, and should be required reading for parents and teachers who may have forgotten how it feels to be a teen in turmoil. Kendall Driscoll is the contemplative voice of the Millennials.
J.C. Elkin, author of World Class: Poems Inspired by the ESL Classroom
“Although Speech of the Masquerade seems to grow out of the world of performance poetry, it has roots that extend to the work of Gwendolyn Brooks and Walt Whitman. Kendall Driscoll is a young
poet with lots of emotional energy, alternately compassionate and playful, whose subjects range from love to procrastination, clarinetists to coffee makers, Mozart to Lady Gaga.”
poet with lots of emotional energy, alternately compassionate and playful, whose subjects range from love to procrastination, clarinetists to coffee makers, Mozart to Lady Gaga.”
Dr. Gilbert Allen, author of Catma
“In these empathetic poems, Kendall Driscoll explores the messy, perilous, rewarding relationships that tie humans together. Her eye for detailpop culture, high art, weather, placedraws the reader into these expertlydrawn scenes. Speech of the Masquerade is a bighearted book with a wry sense of humor. Read it! You'll thank your lucky stars that you did.”
Joni Tevis, author of The Wet Collection
Whether she's ribbing on resumebuilders, writing mockeulogies to defunct coffee machines, or challenging others to gather the courage to live honestly, Kendall's voice reverberates with beauty and truth, which according to some poets, are the same thing.
Derek Berry author of Skinny Dipping With Strangers
“Diverse in scope and broad in range, the poems in Driscoll’s impressive debut collection are detailed geographies of the human heart. From laughter to heartbreak, from iPod playlists to violin solos, there is much here to discover and to love.”
Dr. Andrew Geyer, author of A Shared Voice
“May we stand strong without cowering any longer in fear of what could come,” advises the speaker in “The Destination of Procrastination.” Such wise words could also serve as the mantra of Kendall Driscoll’s fine debut collection. The poems here originate from a range of “masked” human voices—the unheard, the unwanted, the unsure, the shy—and come out swinging in a dazzling array of forms and moods, from lyric relation to comic eulogy, from the epistolary to the latenight confession. These poems are Exhibit A for the case that 1) the outsiders will stand the test of time and 2) poetry will always provide both sanctuary and the potential to heal.
Michael Diebert- author of Life Outside the Set
"Imagine taking a glass diary, a fragile journal of personal revelations and truth about a personality and life you’ve never known before. You grip it in your hand and throw it with full force against a brick wall. After it shatters into distinct and unique pieces, you pick up each shard and examine it. Feel the rough edges with a careful hand and hold each piece of glass to the air to catch a gleam of sunlight. That rainbow going through each shard of glass that makes you smile, relate and remember the details of your own life experiences....that’s the experience of reading ‘Speech of the Masquerade’. From finding the strength in your own voice to stepping out in love to share it with others then to letting every day show and mold you into a person you’re trying to figure out if you even want to become, this poetry collection is a pure joy to read. It is the perfect blend of complex wordplay mixed with honest simplicity to paint mind pictures that are hard to shake. Ms. Driscoll has truly used language to remove the mask and let the world become privy to a heartfelt journey now revealed."
GoodReads Library Thing
Press Received
Interview Questions
1. What kind of reader were you as a child? And what were your favorite childhood books?
As a child, I was an avid reader. I read anything I could get my hands on. When I was in elementary school, I remember I really enjoyed the Junie B. Jones books.
2. What was the last truly great book you read?
The White Album by Joan Didion. Didion is an absolutely gifted writer.
3. The last book that made you cry?
3. The last book that made you cry?
The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks. When I read the book for the first time, I cried for the last 50 or so pages of the novel.
4. The last book that made you furious?
Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer. The anticlimactic ending truly infuriated me.
5. If you could only bring three books to a desert island, which would you choose?
5. If you could only bring three books to a desert island, which would you choose?
I would definitely bring the last three books in the Harry Potter series (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows).
It’s excellent book series written by an excellent writer and the length of the books would keep me reading for a nice long time on the desert island.
It’s excellent book series written by an excellent writer and the length of the books would keep me reading for a nice long time on the desert island.
6. Who is your favorite novelist of all time?
J.K. Rowling
7. Your favorite novelist writing today?
J.K. Rowling
J.K. Rowling
8. What are your literary guilty pleasures? Do you have a favorite genre?
I don’t specifically have a favorite genre.
9. Which book might we be surprise to find on your bookshelves?
Twilight by Stephanie Meyer. I’m not typically a reader interested in vampires.
10. What were the most influential books you read as a student?
The majority of the books I read in my nonfiction class in college would probably have been the most influential books I’ve read. The ten books I read in that spring semester of my sophomore year showed me a variety of writing styles. In a way, they became models of writing I wished to emulate.
11. If you could require the President to read one book, what would it be?
Rainer Maria Rilke’s Letters to a Young Poet. The book has several valuable pieces of wisdom worth reading.
Rainer Maria Rilke’s Letters to a Young Poet. The book has several valuable pieces of wisdom worth reading.
To arrange a book signing, interview or to request review copies, please email us at admin@prapublishing.com
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