the samurai, also available as an eBook and PDF, is a collection of poems by Linda M. Crate that speaks of rebirth, reincarnation, and lessons from the past as a means to a better future. For Linda, this is through a past life discovered in a very vivid dream that had both awed and confused her.
Within this dream, Linda was visited by a strong, courageous woman—a samurai—who showed her how to listen to her past, learn from her mistakes, and inherit the future she deserves. The Onna-bugeisha (female martial artist) were female samurai. They were a type of female warrior who mostly belonged to the Japanese nobility. This collection was titled “the samurai” because this is what the woman in the dream wished to be known as. She was a fighter and a survivor, as is Linda.
The 21 poems included in this chapbook encourage readers to dive deep within themselves and to use the past as a tether to the right path for the future. The cover art (illustrations by Ann Marie Sekeres) was inspired by the 19th-century Japanese woodcut tradition and several prints by artists such as Utagawa Kunikiyo that focused on rooftop fighting and falling warriors. Butterflies represent the souls of the dead which inspired the artist to include them both in the cover and interior illustrations.
