A Halloween Duology from K. A. Opperman

I'm a fan of Halloween, but not as big of a fan as K. A. Opperman. I'm not sure there is a bigger fan of All Hallows Eve than Opperman. His introduction to “Past the Glad and Sunlit Season,” his first collection of Halloween themed poems, illustrates it. I enjoyed the brief story of his Halloween journey. It's quite different from mine, and he is far more passionate in his love for the holiday.

Opperman has also produced a second collection of Halloween related poetry in “October Ghosts and Autumn Dreams.” I’ve reviewed them independently on Goodreads but decided to blog them together. The covers on the two books are the first thing you notice. Both are striking, and the interiors are fully illustrated. These are my photos here of the covers. The covers reflect—in my opinion—the contents of the books. The book 2 poems are generally darker, although not horrific. 

As for the poems? The first volume contains 54 of them. Most are short. All are rhyming. They are charming enough to be read to children but have enough ghoulish imagery to tantalize the adult. I read some to my wife, who is also a Celtiphile, and she found them delightful.

The second collection contains 46 poems, but several of them are longer so it’s about the same total length. These are also rhyming poems, although he varies the rhyming scheme a little more here. I personally find writing good rhyming poems difficult, but in these two books Opperman has done a wonderful job in making the rhymes work to his—and the reader’s—advantage. 

A very nice touch in both books was a section at the end about the poems, wherein Opperman discusses the origins and some of the meanings of the pieces. I keep this kind of information for my own stories and poems so it’s nice to see it from someone else. 

The second book also ends with a too brief essay on “Trick-or-Treat As Initiatory Rite and Attendant Symbolism.” Opperman laid out some very interesting concepts in this piece and I’d love to see an expansion of it. He clearly has thought a great deal about Halloween and that time of the year. Perhaps he is indeed the Pumpkin King and his human face only a summer disguise.

Overall, there's a touch here and there that remind me of Ray Bradbury's work, who was also a lover of Halloween. The titles, particularly, put me in mind of Ray. I will mention one specific poem that reminds me of Bradbury’s work, from book 2. It really connected with me. “Where Yet October Dwells.” To quote:

Against the bleak advances of November,

There is a hollow lost in hidden dells,

Where yet a pumpkin keeps October’s ember—

A place of dreams and spells. 

I was born in October, as was my wife. We are one day apart, although not in years. So this poem resonated with me for that reason in addition to others. When I finished reading it, I was expecting it to be the last one in the collection. Turns out there was one more but I think the position of these two might have been reversed to good effect. 

To sum up, these two volumes make a nice addition to my shelves. Perhaps I’ll have to put them up with a Halloween display this year. And I doubt we’ve heard the last about Halloween from the Pumpkin King. Not the “King in Yellow” but the King in Orange. With a carved smile.