Eleven Sundry Flowers


Poetry - Love/Romance
28 Pages
Reviewed on 07/10/2021
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Author Biography

Born in Maryland, Frank Mundo was raised in Los Angeles, California. He earned his BA in English from UCLA, where he completed the creative writing program and won the school's Poet Laureate Award nomination and its Vice Provost Award for fiction. Author of the poetry chapbook Touched by an Anglo from Kattywompus Press, Frank is best known for his novel-in-verse, The Brubury Tales, a modern take on Chaucer's Canterbury Tales set in Los Angeles after the '92 riots. Frank lives in Rancho Cucamonga, California with his wife Nancy and their children, Grace and Chase. A lifelong fan of illustrative literature, Frank is fascinated by the pairing of words with images, and has collaborated with artist Keith Draws for many projects over the years.

    Book Review

Reviewed by Bruce Arrington for Readers' Favorite

Eleven Sundry Flowers by Frank Mundo is both a picture book and an inspirational book of love poems. Though relatively short, an enormous amount of artwork and thoughts about life, love, and how the writer truly enjoys his existence fill the pages. The artwork and writing are so intertwined it is nearly impossible to separate the two. First of all, the illustrations are like nothing I have ever seen before. Each page is a carefully arranged collection of minutely detailed beautiful images. There are ancient gods, cherubs, the sun, the moon, and a myriad of planets, to name a few. It’s plain to see that a lot of work has gone into the fashioning of each page to bring about a story almost of itself. But those artful pictures do need the words, or the book becomes difficult to understand.

The poems are of romance, dotted with old English, and filled with nuances, deep meanings, and bold expressions of affection. It’s clearly apparent this man is in love with his Nancy, and the carefully chosen words of closeness and desire offer a bright and positive perspective on life itself. The poetry strongly shows how falling in love with someone can completely change a person’s perspective and their enjoyment of everyday living. Eleven Sundry Flowers by Frank Mundo is a profound piece of work that expresses intensely personal thoughts of love and yet is universal. It's such a fresh and positive presentation of love that it leaves me blown away! I highly recommend this extraordinary book.

Lois J Wickstrom

Frank Mundo loves Nancy Aceves. He likens her beauty to flowers’ loveliness in the day and their intoxicating scents at night. He likens his love to a butterfly’s chaotic dance. He loves her when she has hay fever. He loves her even when he cannot see her. He loves the life that blossomed their friendship into love. He loves writing delicate poetry proving that Nancy is the flower of his life. This book is about eleven flowers because Nancy is Frank’s twelfth flower to complete the dozen. Eleven Sundry Flowers by Frank Mundo, illustrated by Keith Draws, is a sweet confection in praise of both Nancy and love. It is an ode to life itself. Keith Draw’s Art Nouveau-style illustrations add to the sweetness.

I’m a fan of love poems. These grabbed me at the title, Eleven Sundry Flowers. The word “sundry” feels loving. It means “of various kinds” because love is not the same every day, even when it is love for the same person. The word also means that there is no reason to separate the kinds because the grouping is what matters. Sundry truly describes these eleven poems. Sundry is a warm word. It contains the word sun, the source of Earth’s warmth. Keith Draw’s art includes suns and moons. Anyone who has experienced or even dreamed of a love that feels integral to life itself will appreciate these poems. Frank Mundo has written other books of poetry, and Keith Draws has illustrated other books. Their friendship pairs well with their artistic talents to make this book a gift of love.

Rylanne Burdette

In the lyrical and heartwarming poems of Eleven Sundry Flowers, Frank Mundo expresses many emotions for his wife, Nancy, who has been by his side for so long. Mundo wrote one poem a day for eleven days, all dedicated to his wife. The author relates aspects of nature, mentioning things like butterflies, flowers, and birds, to give physical descriptions to the idea of love and how it is seen throughout life, specifically, the author’s relationship with Nancy. Lines such as “Surely, like the butterfly, you’ll go right / to the core of my heart and see love’s light” really touch the heart. Eleven Sundry Flowers is a lovely book that provides great imagery through poetry alongside wonderful illustrations.

I really enjoyed this set of poems from Frank Mundo! The writing contains some beautiful quotes, portraying the concept of love and relationships elegantly. I also appreciated how Mundo provided a bit of background of what led him to write the poems; it was nice to get insight into the heart of his words! The various illustrations surrounding the short poems that made up each page were absolutely stunning, and I could not stop staring at them. Eleven Sundry Flowers makes a great gift for loved ones, and although the poems are specific to Nancy to some extent, I think many people will be able to relate to and agree with the heartfelt words flowing throughout this short book of poems.