Evidence of Rain - Tapa blanda

"Evidence of Rain" is a collection of poems about growing up in rural Wisconsin in a large family with a father who was more likely to be at the local tavern than at home, and a loving mother whose personality is slowly disappearing. It contains a coming of age story, but also explores the themes of nature, humor, the fragility of the family, and survival. The poems are sometimes dark, sometimes darkly humorous. Some of them are clearly descriptive, others follow the logic of dreams. Childhood ghosts haunt the book throughout, giving it a melancholy tinge. Yet colorful images of adulthood, marriage, and the natural world also animate its pages.

Carol Rucks grew up in a large family in Central Wisconsin. She was educated at the University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point, where she studied Literature and Creative Writing with David Steingass and Dave Engel. She has traveled widely in Eastern and Western Europe and in Latin America. She studied poetry writing with Rosann Lloyd in Guatemala as part of Art Workshops in Guatemala. She has worked mainly in libraries, including the Golda Meir Library in Milwaukee, and also the Art/Music/Literature Department of the Minneapolis Central Library, which later became part of the Hennepin County Library system.Her poems have appeared in “Abraxas,” “Energy Review,” “Colere,” “West Branch,” “Dust and Fire,” and elsewhere. She is actively involved with the Loft Literary Center and its classes and readings, and was a finalist in the Loft Mentor Series for 2012. She lives in Minneapolis with her husband, Mark McHugh.