Authored by Mary Clark
It is raining love in Greenwich Village. . . When Erin, a young poet, reads these words on a piece of folded paper in the garret of Paul Johnston (PJ), an elderly Bohemian artist, she does not know she is on the threshold of a life-changing adventure. She is brought together with PJ by Rogue, another poet, who has known PJ for a decade. Her presence creates tension between the two men. And PJ confides in her that he needs the female perspective in his study of human nature.
PJ is a living example of Greenwich Village's "revolution of consciousness." Coming to the Village in 1919, he took in the full flavor, substance and style of the Bohemian philosophy of life. Over the years, through his heightened awareness, he created his own philosophy. He and Erin embark on a journey through the human psyche. Erin learns of PJ's death and rebirth after an operation at the age of 40, in the skeleton of the man he had been. He is reborn into a second innocence, but has the mind and memory of a grown man. In his search for new reasons to live, he forms new identities: The Artist, the Professor of Love, and The Old Man, among others. But who is PJ? And who will Erin become?
About the author:
Mary Clark grew up in Florida and as a teenager moved to New Jersey. She graduated from Rutgers University-Newark with a B.A. in Psychology. Her intuition, though, directed her away from bureaucratic social service. Moving to Manhattan, NYC, she began work as a volunteer in the theater and poetry programs at St. Clement's Church on West 46th Street. For five years, she was the director of the Poetry Festival at St. Clement's. It was through poet Richard Spiegel, founder of the Poetry Festival, that she met Paul Johnston (PJ), the subject of this book. While at the church, in the West Side area known as Hell's Kitchen, she intuitively sensed that she belonged in this unique neighborhood. She formed the most important friendships of her life, became an active member of civic groups and worked for several community-based organizations. One of these groups assisted homeless families in Times Square and Hell's Kitchen. Shortly afterward, she began a monthly community newspaper. This allowed her to continue both her neighborhood involvement and her writing.
After returning to Florida, she completed Children of Light, published online at Scribd.com by Ten Penny Players. Her article, "Living Alive: A New Definition of Intuition," based on PJ's concepts, is online at Gatewood Journal, under the pseudonym Erin Yes. Mary's poetry and prose have appeared in Waterways: Poetry in the Mainstream, Jimson Weed, Lips, The Archer, East River Review, Home Planet News, Clinch Mountain Review, and Freshtones, an anthology of women writers. Her Wikipedia articles include Paul Johnston (fine press printer and book designer), Egmont Arens, and Emmy Lichtwitz Krasso. You may visit her on Twitter, Scribd (Mary A Clark), Google+, and at her blog: http://literaryeyes.wordpress.com
