The Golden Wheel

Book excerpt: The Golden Wheel is Julia Cooley Altrocchi’s fourth poetry anthology, upon which she was working when she died at age 79. The short poems chosen exemplify the broad spectrum of Julia’s aesthetic interests -- love, nature, optimism, philosophic reflection, the grandeur of history and travel, modern youth, and the meaning of Life. The editors, a son and a granddaughter, have enriched this anthology with a sampling of her youthful poetry as well as two powerful long narrative poems in their entirety -- Black Boat, which describes one of World War II’s least-known American racial injustices, and Chicago: Epic City, for which she won, at age 75, first prize in Poet Lore’s National Narrative Poem Contest. This collection of poetry illuminates the evolution and full sweep of Julia Cooley Altrocchi’s literary creativity and artistry.