An Assemblage of Lyrical Expressions

About the Book

These poems are based on the author’s real-life experiences throughout his lifetime.

About the Author

At noon on Sunday, March 26, 1933 the only son (the last in a family of seven children) was born to Frank H., Sr. and Myrtle A. Graff. A devout Christian mother would instill in her son, at a very early age, a love for the Christian Bible and of poetry. Growing up on their small family farm in rural southern Illinois, Frank Jr. would be one of the last of his generation to have the privilege of receiving his primary education in a one-room country school. After graduating from Murphysboro Township High School, the author enlisted in the United States Navy in 1952; and after serving both in active duty and the Naval Reserve, received an honorable discharge in 1961. Formal education was completed at Draughon’s College in Paducah, Kentucky and at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois. On April 8, 1967 the author was married to Betty Jean Hemmer. This happy marriage lasted until Betty’s death on March 5, 2009. A long working career was begun with the Sherwin-Williams Company and concluded at Southern Illinois University. The author retired in early 1996 and now resides in a small apartment in Carbondale, Illinois. * * * Nature, God and grief are among the subjects explored in this slender, heartfelt collection of poems. Graff’s verses explore many of the traditional rustic themes of lyric poetry. Especially prominent are rapt celebrations of landscapes and wildlife... Although his sentiments are conventional and his imagery feels imprecise and at times generic, he manages to convey the kind of homespun poetic verities that never entirely go out of fashion. Old-school evocations of a poet’s surroundings and soul. -Kirkus Reviews