Lynda McKinney Lambert

Songs for the Pilgrimage



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© 2021 by Lynda McKinney Lambert

From the Prologue and Epilogue of Songs for the Pilgrimage

The word pilgrimage refers to a religious journey. Individuals commit to traveling to reach a predetermined destination, such as a shrine or holy place. The excursion is a trek from one location to another. Pilgrimage has been an abiding theme in my writing for several decades.

My first book, Concerti: Psalms for the Pilgrimage (Kota Press, 2002, now out of print), was inspired by my annual journeys to Salzburg, Austria, where I taught a month-long drawing and writing course. I revised and expanded that previous collection of stories, poems, historical notes, and journal entries for this new book. Songs for the Pilgrimage features writings, drawings, and photographs I created over four decades.

I conclude with an artist's prayer:

My studio is yours, Lord. Be my welcome guest today. Your goodness and unfailing kindness have been with me all my life. I have tried to make your glory visible in the works of art I have created. Someday I will close the door of my studio for the final time, but I will not be alone. Together, we will go to your home, where we will continue to collaborate on glorious projects throughout eternity. Amen.

May I Serve You?
Here are the stacks of paintings
for you to look at tonight.
I carefully brought them out
of storage closets
arranged them here
in the kitchen—
where my children used to play
games around a square oak table.
Once, food to nourish the body
was prepared here, by my hands.
Tonight, there is an
abundance of food
for your soul.
Come into my kitchen and
taste the world,
prepared by my hands.

© 1997


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Star Signs

New and Selected Poems



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© 2019 by Lynda McKinney Lambert

Lynda Lambert covers a wide terrain of subjects and topics in this new book, from lights to legends to seasons, treating us to images and metaphors about plants, people and weather. She opens this large collection with the title poem, Star Signs, which walks us through the alphabet as it digs through thoughts, emotions and observations, "Using star signs to map out new terrain."

Throughout this book of poems, these gems of poetic creation shimmer like beads on her fabric art, like bold brush strokes of color on her paintings, and reflect light like the gemstones on her prize-winning piece of mixed-media fiber artwork. It seems this entire collection is like a multifaceted mural.

Her attentiveness to nature and strong reflections from memory have woven from a collage of remnants a beautiful tapestry for us. It offers a wonderful feast for the eyes and the mind.

—Wesley D. Sims, author of Taste of Change


Painting in Mid-October
Autumn's morning light revealed changes
Undermined the scarlet-red palette
Taking center stage on the painting
Undulating rain cast gray-violet hues
Misty diffusion brought a new perspective
Not anticipated yesterday
Aroused the softened brushstrokes
Layered over the primed canvas.
Dying is a careful arrangement
A graceful staged performance
Yellow leaves are faithful dancers
Spectacular choreography!


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Walking by Inner Vision

Stories & Poems



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© 2017 by Lynda McKinney Lambert

In this second collection, Pennsylvania artist, teacher, and author Lynda McKinney Lambert invites readers into her world of profound sight loss to discover the subtle nuances and beauty of a physical and spiritual world.

She takes strands from ancient mythology, history, and contemporary life and weaves a richly textured new fabric using images that are seen and unseen as she takes us on a year-long journey through the seasons.

All stories in this book were created after her sudden sight loss in 2007 from Ischemic Optic Neuropathy. Lambert invites us to see the world with new eyes.

Edited by David and Leonore H. Dvorkin
Cover by David Dvorkin


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Prologue Posted on the VisionAware Blog

The prologue of Linda's book was posted on the VisionAware blog of the American Federation for the Blind. To read the blog post, click here.

Reviews

Anthology Knits Life Through Poetry and Prose

Walking by Inner Vision was reviewed on the blog "Abbie's Corner of the World." To read the review, please click here.

A Touching and Creative Book

The depth of the author's creativity brings together artistic mediums and presents them in a format inspired by the 12-month calendar and seasonal influences. She writes of the craft of writing and other visual arts with an understated ease. She foregoes pretentions and her voice is clear and concise from the first line to the last.

Lambert begins with winter, which she presents as a rebirth, of nature's awakening. She recalls how the crispness of fresh snow reminds her of other childhood sensations.

From the winter, the musings and prose continue on to the spring, then summer, highlighting the personal and spiritual accents of which she finds inspiring.

In one poignant story, she describes a spiritual comforting as her daughter lies in the hospital fighting for her life. In this essay, Lambert expresses feeling helpless but also hopeful.

In another section, she shares her creative process, which, as a writer, I found fascinating.

This unique and varied collection can be read at one's leisure, something to keep on the coffee table or by the bedside for those times when a little inspiration and comfort is sought. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it for gift giving season for any creative individual.

Anne Chiappetta, author of Upwelling: Poems

Reader Comment

We are all blessed that your gift of light can be spread easily with the help of the special equipment you get to use! I got the book the first day it was available in print :) and I have been touched by everything I have read so far. It is unreal how memories expressed through words so exquisite will artfully weave themselves into your reader's mind and go all the way to the roots to make our own forgotten memories spring up with new life!

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for writing and publishing for us.

— Kriszta

Award and Publication News

5/29/19

My book Walking by Inner Vision: Stories & Poems has been made into an AUDIBLE recording. It is now available on Amazon. You can listen to a FREE SAMPLE. In this free sample, a professional actor from California reads a section from the book's PROLOGUE. In addition you can listen to the entire book on AUDIBLE recording for FREE if you already use AUDIBLE.

Please read more about my book and listen to the sample by clicking here:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07S45ZY39/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vamf_taft_p1_i1

If you read my book and enjoy it, please come back to Amazon and leave a short endorsement or review. I have a 5-star review of the book currently. Also, the print edition is a wonderful gift for someone who loves to read stories & poems. Father's Day is just ahead and I think any father would be delighted with this book.

3/29/18

I learned early this morning that my essay "How to Write a 12th Century Sestina for the 21st Century" has won First Place in poetry; my essay "The Connie" has won 2nd place for a non-fiction essay; and my poem "In My Dream" will be published in the Spring/Summer Issue of Magnets & Ladders magazine. I won the TRIPLE CROWN TODAY!!!

Award Nomination

9/28/17

"Congratulations! We are thrilled to inform you that your essay 'Prologue: in which I Knit a Life Back Together,' published in the September 2016 issue of Spirit Fire Review, has been nominated for Sundress Publications Best of the Net Anthology Awards, 2016-2017."

The piece is the "Prologue" in my new book, Walking by Inner Vision: Stories & Poems, published in February 2017.

Appearances

Sunday, September 17, 2017

At 6:30 p.m. on Sunday, September 17, Lynda was a guest on Barry Eva's podcast, "A Book and a Chat." To visit the program's website, please click here. Listen to the program at the following link: http://newvisionsradio.com/.

March 6, 2017

Lynda was a guest on Branco Broadcast, talking mainly about how she developed her book. You can listen the broadcast at the following link: https://youtu.be/UWxmoU7euio

February 26, 2017

Lynda was a guest on the NFB Writers' Division call where she talked about "Writing with Intention" and her process of accomplishing her own desired results.

About the Author

Lynda Lambert

Lynda McKinney Lambert
Visual Artist, Author, Educator, Blogger

Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. To keep our faces toward change and behave like free spirits in the presence of fate is strength undefeatable.
—Helen Keller

In her first book, Concerti: Psalms for the Pilgrimage (Kota Press, 2003), Lynda invites readers to begin a pilgrimage through poems, historical notes, and journal reflections written during her summers in Austria and other European countries. This publication marked the beginning of her literary journey that continues with the publication of her work in numerous books, blogs, and literary journals.

Walking by Inner Vision: Stories & Poems continues the pilgrimage as she gives readers a glimpse into a private world of limited sight. Lynda suddenly lost most of her eyesight in 2007. However, it is not a world of lost vision, imagination, or insight.

Lynda has no central vision, which means she cannot see details or colors. She has limited peripheral vision that is cloudy and gray. She describes her vision as similar to walking in a winter snowstorm at twilight.

Lynda's themes emerge from decades of multilayered life experiences. Her lifelong interest in history, fine arts, and literature gives her writing a firm foundation on which she weaves a tapestry of contemporary reflections. A pilgrimage is an individual path for each person. Yet it is also a universal passage. Just about everything in our shared human experience requires adaptation and adjustment to change. We can revise!

Lynda McKinney Lambert holds a BFA degree in painting and an MA degree in English from Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania, and an MFA degree in painting from West Virginia University. She is now retired as a professor of fine arts and humanities at Geneva College in western Pennsylvania.

Contact Information

To inquire about Lynda's availability for presentations at conferences, hospitals, civic organizations, and university classes, please contact her by email: riverroad@zoominternet.net

Lynda McKinney Lambert
104 River Road
Ellwood City, PA 16117
Phone: 724-758-4979

Lynda's personal website: www.lyndalambert.com

Lynda's three Facebook pages:
Walking by Inner Vision blog: https://www.facebook.com/walkingbyinnervision/
SCANdalous blog: https://www.facebook.com/SCANdalous-Blog-782814908467623/
River Road Studio: https://www.facebook.com/River-Road-Studio-175785105811956/

E-mail:
riverwoman@zoominternet.net
llambert@zoominternet.net
riverroad@zoominternet.net