Voices
I again offer you, the reader, to walk into my soul and see the world through my eyes. It is here where you will find me, in the pages of my book, Voices.
But the voices are not mine alone, but of those who have gone before me. The echoes we feel and hear are alive, speaking in that invisible world through poetic visions.
It is fitting that Voices takes its place after Journey, for it was through this life journey that poetry found me and introduced me to a world of prose in the fellowship of characters seen behind a literary curtain of life.
As a student of History, poetry has afforded me new worlds and the challenge to think deeper. Everything: Persons, nature and all forms of life have shaped me in this world we live in.
Praise for Voices
"Merrill Guillory releases memories from ancestors over generations. He exposes the pain suffered by those too white to be black and yet too black to be white. The dilemma creates a schizophrenic world that Guillory won’t let us forget. As U.S. society becomes more multiracial, let’s hope that these hurdles of racial identity will be overcome. We are who we are -- let no one question it!" ~ Elaine Parker Adams, Author of The Reverend Peter W. Clark: Sweet Preacher and Steadfast Reformer and Haiku Bouillabaisse.
"Merrill Guillory is a skilled memoirist whose special talent rewards his readers with perceptive insights into human behavior. He discerns the essential characteristics of an individual and his cultural mores and tells a much larger story. Through poetry and prose, Merrill delves into the heart of the human spirit, sharing his gift for insight and discernment to leave readers with a deeper understanding of nature, humanity, culture, and history." ~ Carolyn Griffin, Retired Educator
"Merrill Guillory is a gifted storyteller who uses poetry and prose to share his people’s story. Each ethnic, cultural, and racial group of people in America has a unique story that should be blended into overall American history but often is not. Much like the ingredients of a gumbo (a uniquely Louisiana savory soup), each group of people adds to the overall flavor of American culture while remaining distinctly different. Merrill vividly captures and shares what it means to grow up Black in southern Louisiana. For those of us who were born with skin too dark for some and too light for others, Merrill’s work is a must-read. At the same time, he tells the story of all people who have felt the sting of being judged by an accident of birth and not the essence of who we are." ~ Deacon Harold J. Nixon