A Family Scrapbook

These poems are autobiographical, although this is not an autobiography. Rather, they are the author's memories. They are prayers: family prayers, prayers of thanksgiving, prayers of repentance, prayers of intercession. They are also songs of gratitude for the complex gift of life in that strange and wonderful thing we call family.

A Family Scrapbook is a collection of poems that trace the arc of 5 generations of a family; from the death of the author's grandfather on a cold winter day in Sioux City, Iowa to the birth and childhood of his 5 grandchildren. The poems are based on real people and real memories, but there is also something universal about the experience of growing up in families. They are behind us and in front of us, our history and our future. The author says that these poems are prayers: family prayers, prayers of thanksgiving, prayers of repentance, and prayers of intercession. But these poems are also little stories about the people who make up one American family. The collection is also an invitation to pull up a chair and share your own family scrapbook.

Ralph Pitman is a retired Episcopal Priest who lives in Cleveland Heights with his wife, their Cairn terrier, and a few too many guitars. He has spent a lifetime giving voice to his experience of divinity. through words and song. These poems are reflections on the gift of family.