Lifelines and Labyrinths

Alice Gresto was born in East Los Angeles at the end of the Great Depression. At the end of WW II her parents were able to buy a house on a half-acre of land at the rural edges of Bellflower where they raised their three sons and three daughters. It was there that Alice developed her love of the land, tending to the animals, growing food for the table and learning of the bounties found in nature. ... Later, while raising her own family of three boys and three girls, Alice earned three...
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Alice Gresto was born in East Los Angeles at the end of the Great Depression. At the end of WW II her parents were able to buy a house on a half-acre of land at the rural edges of Bellflower where they raised their three sons and three daughters. It was there that Alice developed her love of the land, tending to the animals, growing food for the table and learning of the bounties found in nature. ... Later, while raising her own family of three boys and three girls, Alice earned three teaching credentials and a MA. Ed in Bilingual Cross Cultural Education through UC Irvine and California State University, Fullerton. She taught in Title l, Title Vll schools in Los Angeles County. ... In her last teaching years before retirement she taught in an enrichment program where she introduced her immigrant students to poetry. Soon she was writing poetry for herself. Currently, Alice coordinates the Free Books literacy program and interprets for the Spanish speaking immigrant community at the local St. Vincent de Paul Pantry. ... In 2006, Alice joined the Osher Lifelong learning Institute at California State University, Fullerton where she has since connected with other writers in the Poetry for Pleasure class. It was there that she was supported and encouraged by her peers to publish her work in the class anthologies, and later, "Lifelines & Labyrinths."The poems in "Lifelines & Labyrinths" reflect Alice's rich life experiences. The reader benefits from her delightful weaving of family, events, relationships, nature, seasons, and beliefs. The resulting tapestry is a pleasure to read. ... One favorite poem describes the development of her poetry..."Vat 62 ... Grains of thought ...ground to mash...simmer unspoken... in kettle brain,...cool in subconscious...dark cellar....Conclusions form... in time yeast...ferment in sugar experience....Ideas trickle...through charcoal reason...pristine and powerful....Tested slowly,...deliberately questioned,...clear ombre distillate savored....Call forth the inner circle,...the poet is ready...to present her potion....Vat 62