CHRONICLES FROM A MYTH-STICAL WORLD
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A very old man, with but wisps of gray hair framing a craggy face, filled with lines that bespoke wisdom, clutching a worn out backpack in both hands, stumbled into my favorite coffee shop one afternoon. He immediately made eye contact with me. “This is for you.” He approached my table and placed the backpack on it, keeping his full weight via his arms atop the pack as he leaned in close. “It is the tale of a strange life, a story of mythical proportions.” His voice then dipped several octaves and he continued in deep reverent tones. “I will entrust it to you if you promise that you, and any future readers, read it aloud as you read it through; voices enhance its magical qualities. Declare this oath to me, here and now: I swear that I, and any future readers of whom I am aware, will read this epic tale aloud, more like a play performed outdoors, rather than words spoken under a shroud.” Something in his deep, husky and ancient sounding voice made his oath request seem much more like an order not to be disobeyed, so I repeated the oath word for word. He nodded slowly and a small spark seemed to leap from his eyes. He handed me the backpack, sighed and departed with a smile. I unzipped the pack and withdrew frayed, yellowed, hand-written papers bound up into a single manuscript. The cover title hooked me: CHRONICLES FROM A MYTH-STICAL WORLD The blending of the words mythical and mystical intrigued me, so I took the volume home and with my wife, read it aloud all night. Who was this old man? We began to wonder if he who gifted me with the work was the main male character. Indeed, could the writings be his autobiography? You decide?
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About the Book
(From The Author); The work that follows is motivational and inspiring, and (as far as I am able to tell) is fairly unique in its story-telling/grammatical structure—a poetic epic if you will. It is a story about love, compassion, and genuine human care that takes place in a realm of altruism, a place where one does something for the other as well as him/herself. It takes place in a village that one must have an honest, sincere heart with an artistic focused life to find. -----------------------------------------------------------------Illness became an opportunity for growth and change for the author and for me. As I witnessed this inspiring poetic epic , nearly 15 years in the making, come into being, I was transformed by the author's courage to transmute suffering through creative work. Robert D. Romanyshyn, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology
About the Author
I have earned two Master Degrees and have been writing at least half of my life. I have been writing poetry since 1995; it is one of my main passions in life. For me, writing poetry relieves stress and leaves me feeling content with a sense of accomplishment, feelings that will be passed on to the, hopefully, many readers of this work. This poetically crafted story has been a labor of love that spans nearly 15 years. It first breathed life as a long poem, grew into a poetic short story, and achieved fruition as a poetic novella (what I call a poetic epic). I was inspired by my historical studies and European travels to write a story that mixes the poetical, mythical and historical with modern reality, a sort of renaissance tale with a mythical, post-modern twist. I reside in Houston, Texas and am married to a wonderful woman who supports my writings like the wife of the narrator of this story. On the physical side of life, I have been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease since 1992. I hope that this work will serve as an inspiration to others, especially to those dealing with disabilities. I find it to be no accident of fate that God chose this poetic epic to be birthed a few years later within me. To state it simply, the narrator of this story is I, and I am he. You can communicate with both of us, it’s just a question how you do it. God Bless. Jeffrey Romanyshyn