THERESA WERBA
poet, author, singer, voice teacher
(formerly THERESA RODRIGUEZ)
"If you are looking for something real, this is it"
-- Evan Mantyk, President, The Society of Classical Poets
"An Original and Powerful Voice for Our Time"
--Hank Whittemore, author of The Monument: "Shake-Speare's Sonnets" by Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford
"The impassioned writer/activist/educator we desperately need today"
--Carla Christopher, Arts and Cultural Community Liaison for York City, Director of PoemSugar Press, Host of "Culture and Main: York's Cultural Showcase" on WRCT
"Theresa Rodriguez is an artist who writes with honesty, depth and precision. The words and lines of this book are so alive with emotion and meaning I guarantee you will be grateful to have them handy to read and re-read. As one who loves the sonnets of Shakespeare, especially the hundred-sonnet sequence of 27-126, I find myself appreciating Theresa's work in a special way. She has achieved something rare and special, in my view -- with lines that waste not a single word, lines that carry the weight of strong feeling -- and as the headline says, hers is an original and powerful voice for our time. Buy this book and enjoy!"
-- Hank Whittemore, author of The Monument: "Shake-Speares Sonnets" by Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford
"What a beautiful book. Each section reflects one of the three genres reflected in the title. An unusual and delightful approach that kept me excited for the next piece and I was genuinely moved by the classic beauty of each. Theresa Rodriguez's operatic training comes through in the innate cadence of her poetry and her recitation has all the passion of high theatre. To hear Theresa perform is to remember her, to have visions and phrases come into your head at odd times, to be drawn back to her book to find a quote or a phrase. She is both a classical performer of old and the impassioned writer/activist/educator we desperately need today. Theresa tells her story with almost brutal vulnerability but is never maudlin, rather she moves with a brisk pace and beautiful style that leaves you, as both reader and audience member, empowered and uplifted."
"Theresa Rodriguez demonstrates the power of real metered and rhyming poetry...in fourteen lines, her sonnets in particular are able to communicate what takes essayists and writers thousands of words. The language is accessible and the meaning is unusually clear, leading to well-executed verse that transcends the common discourse... her sonnets in contain exceptional gems including an outstanding anti-abortion sonnet "Goodbye, Sweet Fetal Child." Her concluding couplet reads: "For those untimely born, it must suffice / That they, not choice, become the sacrifice." This is poetry at its best. It speaks to the modern predicament and really conveys a strong, intelligent, and heartfelt voice that will resound into future generations of humanity. If you are looking for something real, this is it."
Evan Mantyk, President, The Society of Classical Poets
"In these poems, especially in the sonnets, we find poems that are heart-breaking, sometimes a bit shocking or grotesque, seldom gentle, but always a full-bore attack on the subject at hand. They are the product of a magnificent poet."-- Bob Wood, Studio B