Album Notes

"I met Jim Thielen at a workshop in a Japanese Tea House in Yachats, Oregon. He writes with a group there called the "Tuesdays." He's a big guy, and when he sent me his registration, he wrote, "Ruth says I should take this workshop." I thought maybe I was in for trouble. You know how some poets are just losers looking for someone to listen to whatever they long for?

Instead, the man I met turned out to be someone I respect and admire more than most writers I've ever had the pleaure of knowing. He gave me such an incredible gift, when he showed up in my studio and recorded these poems in one sitting, and flawlessly. He is a masterful poet, and has the kind of voice you want to stand up and applaud...strong, sturdy, deep, resonant with the truth of what's in his heart. He has studied the Oregon coastline, family, relationships, and these poems transport you to the soul of his life. It's a good place to be, and I'm proud to have cut my teeth on a record label with someone like Jim. He turned eighty the year we recorded this CD."

Jesse White, AUTHENTIC VOICEwork Records, ASCAP