This gifted poet is eighty-eight years old and found his poetic voice late in life. His book, “Today’s Version” contains about 100 poems. It is intended for a wide audience with a special appeal to senior citizens to encourage them to retain their enthusiasm and zest for life. The material ranges from humorous and satirical to science, Nature, and the profound with deep dives into emotions and feelings.
Joeseph G. Kozlowski writes poetry in a traditional style and form which is wonderfully adapted to the contemporary world and is easily accessible to all readers. He is able to capture the simplicity of ordinary things, places, and life then reframe them into the extraordinary and profound. The world needs poets and Joe is meeting the charge head on with grace and elegance.
Joseph G. Kozlowski obtained a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois and graduate work George Washington University and Boston University. A veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps and worked 15 years in management of the U.S. Social Security and Medicare programs. In the private sector, Joe worked 35 years in management of employee benefit programs and health care systems. Joe has published four business books, articles, and is fluent in German. Joe is retired and enjoys golf, backpacking, travel, and bocce ball.
Both modern and nostalgic in tone, Kozlowski’s’s poetry showcases the inward and outward journeys of a life well lived, celebrating childhood innocence, commemorating sacred moments, and highlighting the bittersweet beauty of days gone by, shared with beloved places, unique characters, and lost loves.
Kozlowski crafts with a romantic lens, utilizing keen observation and evocative sensory detail to explore his subjects. A common thread throughout his poems is his obvious love of nature and the arts. The result is a collection of poems that will appeal to a diverse range of readers, whether they are new to poetry or longtime aficionados of the genre.
Throughout Today’s Version, Koslowski introduces us to multiple spaces, eras, and characters—whether describing the natural world, reminiscing about childhood, savoring a perfect moment, or paying tribute to poets, scientists, mythological characters, or everyday people, he presents readers with unique perspectives and personalities.
The speaker’s voice is often wistful, sometimes slightly mischievous, and both reverent and irreverent depending on the topic.
Whether reflecting the sublime within Nature from the poem “Cloudy Journey”
A summer Sunday afternoon,
speculating . . .
long row of multi-hued mini clouds
arrested in their movement,
languid weather;
what is nature’s next whimsy?
or expressing that which captures the sensory essence of moments from the poem “Spirit”.
We persist with Quixote-like determination,
though modern literacy misses,
fails to translate, to capture and contain
the elusive underlying foundational basis.
The ever-humorous mist laughs, swirls, and confounds.
In other poems, Kozlowski offsets stark details of a present location with the softness of a savored, but now fading memory, such as in the poem “Open Gate”
Your eyes’, not blind
but fail to see
the beautiful garden
surrounding thee.
With ears that hear
but do not perceive
the gentle breeze which
rustles through majestic trees.
Seeking to capture sensory moments such as the following from “Wild Suburban Yard”
After dark clever creatures of the night
resume their temporary reign
pushing us indoors to safely ponder
the sundry savage events which
recur nightly in our backyard:
Pondering questions of the universe from “Bang Bang To Infinity: The Multiverse”
The numinous nudge, the quantum smear
Planck’s vastness soon emerges here
where random acts engender quarks
which then emit the proton sparks.
For now enjoy (Standard Model’s) familiar view
not take review too far askew
journey further down this trodden path
well defined with linear math.
In the examples above, readers may note that Kozlowski has a knack for slowing down time, and inhabiting moments, thus allowing readers to discover the sacred in the ordinary.
Throughout Today’s Version, the poet infuses each work with aspects of himself—childhood memories, past travels, beloved characters from his life, and his adventures in nature, to name a few—and this inclusion makes Wood’s work both authentic and personal.
It is precisely because of this personalized content that Kozlowski’s poems transcend individual experiences to touch on universal human themes. As such, readers will find their own connections to his work and be transported back down forgotten hallways of memory.
In sum, with Today’s Version, Joseph G. Kozlowski has crafted a diverse and unique body of work worthy of a read and place of honor on our bookshelves.
