FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Alice Shapiro 770-949-6475

Or info@aliceshapiro.com

The Healing Power of Poetry

Douglasville, GA, USA (June 2009)— Can poetry heal? John F.

Kennedy said "When power corrupts, poetry cleanses."

Douglasville poet Alice Shapiro has put this healing concept to the test
with a reading at SHARE House, a domestic abuse crisis center serving
Douglas County. When she read her poem "Crime" about her childhood
shoplifting adventure, the laughter was almost deafening, with the
shelter residents taking pen to paper to try writing a poem of their
own. Perhaps J.F.K. was right.

Ms. Shapiro's next reading will be held on Father's Day, Sunday, June
21, at the Cultural Arts Center in Douglasville from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM.
She will be reading with Suffolk, Long Island Poet Laureate David
Axelrod, who will present from a selection of his 18 published books.
For directions and more information visit http://www.artsdouglas.org

Shapiro recently released a first poetry collection published by

TotalRecall Press. Cracked: Timeless Topics of Nature, Courage and
Endurance, a book of 108 short, smart poems are mood-altering and
Zen-like contemplations. Livermore, CA, Poet Laureate Connie Post
says "The eloquent use of metaphor in each poem leaves the reader
wanting more, turning the page, to find wonderful creativity and
surprises in language." Dr. Axelrod calls these poems "Gorgeous!"
Other equally positive reviews can be found on Shapiro's website at
http://aliceshapiro.com. In her poem, “From Dead To Aggravated,”
Shapiro encourages with the lines:

“Reaching for release,/tempted by thoughts of peace,/the

struggle bursts, detonates,/flittering down my eyes/and the sky
becomes clutterless.”

Along with blog entries on her site, Shapiro has created a "Childrens
Poems" page where she displays poems written by homeless/abused
children. She says, "It's a way to give back, and to encourage children
to heal from life's unkindness." She knows from her own homeless
experience that “creative writing can heal and propel a person forward
into positive directions.”

Cracked: Timeless Topics of Nature, Courage and Endurance is

available now online at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and through
bookstores. It retails for $14.99.

About the Author: Alice Shapiro has been writing since 1985 when
she studied under William Packard, founder of the New York Quarterly
and professor at NYU. Her poetry credits include a chapbook, Seasons
of the Heart with Scars Publications (2007), poems published in Silent
Actor, New Verse News, The Smoking Poet, Ragazine and the
anthologies Poetry Connoisseur (third prize winner), Antologia del
Nuovo Mondo, and Thank You, Gorbachov! She is also winner of the
Bill C. Davis Drama Award for a one-act play (Four Voices) produced in
Poughkeepsie, NY.