Claire Haye has quietly written poetry all her life. She has decided to share this intimate part of herself with her collectors and hopes you will enjoy this side of her creativity.

This slim volume contains 33 poems on the themes of love and loss.

33 Poems of Love and Loss
by Claire Haye
ISBN 978-1-63110-431-2

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A Note from Claire

I have always needed to express my thoughts, my emotions, my anger, my joy and my sensuality. This drive for self-manifestation has taken me down many paths. I remember as a lonely child painting with messy finger paints for hours, dancing wildly to music, and singing tunelessly in a loud happy voice.

When I was a teenager my thoughts and ambitions turned to the theater. And I pursued an acting career: I performed, I went on tour, I took improvisation classes at Second City, and I studied for several years at the Goodman Theater in Chicago.

In my twenties, I began to feel a subtle shift and encouraged by two friends who were artists, I began to work in clay and to create prints. I also maintained my serious interest in the theater, taught workshops and directed an Audience Participation Theater every Saturday night. What a crazy busy time! I had a young family and apparently an endless amount of energy.

When I turned thirty, I knew that I wanted to focus on my art career. I have done so for over forty years. I am very grateful that I have an audience and the financial support for my creativity.

In my late sixties, I wrote a book: A Modern Women’s Guide to Aging. Why? I think that I needed to focus on my own definite, obvious and unavoidable aging process.

My entire life I have written poetry and in my seventies feel ready to share this part of myself. I dedicate this book to all the angels in my life who have supported my originality. I hope my courage to publish these intimate poems will inspire my readers to find their voice, participate and celebrate their own creative process.

A Poem from the Book

Dinner al fresco

Late spring …. Dinner al fresco in your fragrant/flower filled garden.

Our affectionate farewell until the autumn chill.

I gaze up and see

unripened green fruit festoons your apricot tree.

These jade globes wait patiently for summer sun to perfect

Giving promise of a generous reward.

This year we will finally have apricots.

The blooms have not been taken by late frost or fruit lost to biting wind or unforeseen sleet.

Such unexpected bounty

Must you abandon your garden for faraway travels?

You will not be here to harvest,

Ah so many apricots.

I will dream of unrequited pies and orange-hued jams I can almost taste.

Something fresh and intriguing from Claire Haye: a book she has been working on since 2021.

Claire shares her struggles and successes in an honest and revealing memoir.

Claire Haye / Artist
Survival / Persistence / Renaissance
by Claire Haye
ISBN 978-1-66789-737-0

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A Note from Claire

In 2020, I found myself alone, isolated, and stuck at home; so bored and strung out that I began to write about my life. At first my writing was just a disconnected pouring out. This was ground zero of aging; I was left alone with my reminiscences, mine to savor or to put away in cold storage. Writing the history of my life began melting frozen memories; I was thinking again for the first time in decades about my childhood. Did these incidents really take place? Yes, some of what I remembered must have/could have occurred. I accepted these traces of my childhood, as important signposts, and clues to who I grew into, who I am.

As the words collected, I began to seriously consider making a book. I was having a lengthy conversation with my soul that I began to share with my friends. Thank you, Bob, Holly, Tym, and Marcie for indulging me by reading various versions of my ramblings. Thank you, Memphis Holland, for listening so carefully to my recital of various sections of the book; your comments (pungent and uncensored) encouraged me to tell the whole story.

I turned to the amazing poet Sawnie Morris for help. She agreed to edit my book. Sawnie as an editor was a rare combination of knowledgeable, firm, and kind. I survived and what remains of my writing revised and distilled is (I hope) accessible and readable.

I have claimed for myself, I have earned for myself—choice and freedom. I wish for every woman on earth the power and the opportunity to be fully herself.

I CONTINUE TO GET POSITIVE FEEDBACK ABOUT THIS BOOK!!!!!

There are no shoulds in this book. This is not a how to age book, rather an over view of your choices as you age. This is a substantial book with room for you to make notes about your thoughts and responses to the information.

Yes, “getting old” happens to all of us survivors. How we feel about it and what we do about consists of an ongoing series of decisions.

Personally,I am grateful that I continue to have a creative life, I am less positive about some of the physical changes of the aging process, and I am devastated by the loss of my friends.

Photos by Lenny Foster (click to view the Photo Gallery).

A Modern Woman’s Guide to Aging: Together
We Consider Our Options
by Claire Haye
ISBN 978-1-63110-160-1

$20 plus tax and shipping

You can also order by calling (575) 776-5175.