"Beyond the Road" is JT Curran's first published volume of poetry. Selected from collected works which span over fifty years, JT's poetry blends colorful observations with thought-provoking reflections. With wit, compassion, irony, and humor, this book invites the reader to consider the signposts, off-ramps, co-travelers and vistas which populate our journeys. JT's words reminds us that however we may navigate our experiences, our destination remains beyond the road. ABOUT THE AUTHOR J.T. Curran moved to central Maine in the early 1970s, drawn in part by the homesteading movement which resonated with many who sought a rural lifestyle and greater connection to the land. He built a log cabin on his twenty-two acres of wooded paradise and helped raise three children with his partner of forty-seven years. He has worked as a woodsman and a carpenter, has cultivated his own fruits and vegetables, and has volunteered with many civic and arts organizations. He holds an M.A in Counseling and has provided counseling service to many individuals and groups. He has taught courses in psychology at the University of Maine and Eastern Maine Community College, and has had a twenty-five year career in education as a guidance counselor. In addition to literary pursuits, J.T. is an active musician who has performed since his days in high school, where he sang doo-wop with fellow crooners in the Philadelphia based quartet, the Violators. He maintains an active performance schedule, singing and playing his guitar in venues throughout central Maine. www.MatrikaPress.com/jt-curran INFLUENCES Lawrence Ferlinghetti, e e cummings, T. S. Eliot, Rimbaud, the beat poets , Emily Dickinson, the characters of Edwin Arlington Robinson and the free range of the beats. PUBLISHER's NOTE Matrika Press is an independent publishing house dedicated to publishing inspiring and thought-provoking works. We are honored to publish this collection of poems by JT Curran. JT's poetry reflects a personal experience of his material and illustrates poetic observations readers may find both familiar and surprising. In his words we are given spontaneous prose, keen regard of things seen and unseen, and encapsulations of the essence of the human experience, even the parts we often attempt to keep hidden. JT does all this and more, sometimes in a single poem. Ironic one moment, deeply compassionate the next, JT's work reflects a life lived on one's own terms. It is with gratitude we present to you, "Beyond the Road." ABOUT THE PUBLISHER Matrika Press is an independent publishing house dedicated to publishing insightful and inspirational works, and stories that otherwise may not be told. For more information, visit: www.MatrikaPress.com