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Advance Sales Begin for Lee Khanna’s Before the Rainbow

I'm pleased to announce that an image of one of my paintings "Sol y Sombra" has been selected for the cover of Before the Rainbow, my dear friend Lee Khanna's new chapbook of poetry! One of my painting students, Lee has a special connection with my Vieques body of work, especially the large palm paintings. I understand that some of her poems relate to the palms and the lessons she took with me.

The advance six week sales period for her chapbook, Before the Rainbow, published by Finishing Line Press begins August 27.  Please go to their website,www.finishinglinepress.com, click on “PREORDER FORTHCOMING TITLES,” and order copies of the book online. Or, you may mail a check to Finishing Line Press/ Post Office Box 1626/ Georgetown, KY 40324.  Individual copies are $14. each and $1.99 for shipping. If multiple copies are ordered it will be $4.00 for the first copy and .65 for each additional book, so, for example, 10 books would be $9.85 for shipping.  Please give the Press the mailing address where you wish your copies to be shipped upon the book’s release on November 30, 2012.

            Early reviews of Before the Rainbow include the following:

“The island of Vieques has long been associated with a history of Spanish domination and U.S. exploitation, and most recently, an influx of American tourists.  Before the Rainbow brings new texture to this complex reality as Lee Cullen Khanna fulfills the role of witness and critic in her dazzling first collection of poetry. With powerful lyricism, she reveals a world of disquieting contrasts that pervade social and natural landscapes. Khanna’s bold and refreshing voice is a much needed contribution to writing on Vieques.”

-- Linda Gould Levine, Professor of Spanish Literature, Montclair State University. Author of Isabel Allende, Twayne Publishers                                                                                  

“Lee Cullen Khanna’s Before the Rainbow explores living in Vieques, P.R., an island that is part paradise and part victim of a colonial legacy. Khanna juxtaposes the beauty of its sea, sand, skies, flora and fauna against what she calls its “tortured history.”  In finding joy in a spray of yellow coconut blossoms and egrets who turn to angels as if in a painting, she works magic with the landscape. Khanna’s strong voice, or, rather several voices  -- ironic, painterly, lyrical, political – give us a deeply satisfying look at Vieques, where there is “surprise in palm and deep sea.”

-- Carole Stone, author of American Rhapsody, Cavankerry Press