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Karla K. Morton’s Book “Constant State of Leaping” Wins National Accolades from 
Eric Hoffer Book Awards and a Regional Book Award

Denton, TX – May 22, 2015 – Karla K. Morton, an award-winning author, professional speaker and Texas Poet Laureate, today announced that her latest book, Constant State of Leaping, is a 2015 Eric Hoffer Book Award winner (first runner-up) in the poetry category, a 2015 Montaigne Medal Finalist and a North Texas Book Festival Award winner (first place in the poetry category). 

Constant State of Leaping was selected not only as the first runner-up Eric Hoffer Award winner in the poetry category but also as a Montaigne Medal award finalist, a special part of the Eric Hoffer Award. Each year, the Eric Hoffer Award for books presents the Montaigne Medal to the most thought-provoking books, as an additional distinction beneath the Eric Hoffer Award umbrella. The books selected either illuminate, progress or redirect thought. The Montaigne Medal is given in honor of the great French philosopher Michel de Montaigne, who influenced people such as William Shakespeare, René Descartes, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Friedrich Nietzsche, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Eric Hoffer. 

Constant State of Leaping, published by Texas Review Press, is Morton’s tenth book, and it combines quotes, mythological images and metaphors from nature to deliver poems that describe the urgency of giving one's heart over to life, the burning drive to have faith in the world and the insistence that everything, in its own way, is holy. The publisher describes the collection as “a bold book of poetry delving into risks” and “unfettered joy.” 

In their coverage of the Eric Hoffer Award winners, the US Review of Books, wrote the following review of Morton’s Constant State of Leaping:  “The poet's simple and direct, free verse draws the reader into every aspect of her life with concrete images that vibrate with emotion. When she speaks of the landscape, of the night sky, of love and sensuality, and of that snake with whom she says all women have a 'history (that) is tempestuous; complicated,' it is with words that paint both the picture and the person. Even something so obvious for a writer as a 'pen addiction,' because hers are 'anticipating words - lined up like summer divers on the high board,' every word resonates. Writing in another persona, her feelings ring true and reveal herself. When she comes at last to the pear tree - that she 'was told not to plant' - to sunbathe in early spring, the feelings are exposed and raw and the image is clear."

David Bowles, book reviewer at The Monitor and author of Flower, Song, Dance: Aztec and Mayan Poetry, writes in a recent review of Morton’s Constant State of Leaping: “A masterpiece by a poet you will not soon forget, Constant State of Leaping will leave you wanting to live life to its fullest.” He also says, “There is real 
magic in these poems, an alchemy arising from Morton’s considerable talent and her brave and inspiring response to her own mortality (she is a cancer survivor).” 

Kevin Prufer, author of National Anthem and In a Beautiful Country, says of Constant State of Leaping: "The poems in Karla K. Morton’s Constant State of Leaping address the big, old subjects: the deaths of loved ones, the poignant intricacies of family life, the complex beauty of nature. Here, a fight with a teenage daughter becomes an opportunity for meditation on passion and the cycle of generations. Or an encounter with an old lover at his mother’s funeral inspires a poem on memory and the irretrievability of the past. Or, most moving of all, a description of a lover as ‘the perfect evening / arms outstretched to balance / the tumbling sun in one hand / the cool moon in the other.’ These poems are thoughtful, witty and deeply graceful."  

“I'm thrilled by the recognition and reviews that Constant State of Leaping has received,” said Morton. “It's a celebration of new beginnings; of all that's beautiful. It's a leaping into the wide arms of faith.”

The book’s cover was illustrated by the famous Donna Howell-Sickles, who was inducted into the National Cowgirl Museum & Hall of Fame in 2007. Her work is in the collections of the Tucson Museum of Fine Art, the National Museum of Wildlife Art and the Buffalo Bill Historical Center, as well as many private and corporate 
collections in the U.S. and Europe. 

Constant State of Leaping is available at Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, Texas A&M University Press and local bookstores. More information about Karla K. Morton is available at www.kkmorton.com


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About Karla K. Morton
Karla K. Morton, the 2010 Texas Poet Laureate and a member and Councilor of the Texas Institute of Letters, is a celebrated poet, author, speaker and photographer. A Betsy Colquitt Award Winner, an Eric Hoffer Award winner, two-time Indie Book Award Winner, a North Texas Book Festival Award winner, a nominee for the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame and a two-time Pushcart Prize nominee, she has been widely published in literary journals and is the author of ten books of poetry: Wee Cowrin’ Timorous Beastie (a 17th Century Scottish epic book/CD created in collaboration with award-winning composer Howard Baer); Becoming Superman (Rogers Publishing/Wheeler Press), Redefining Beauty, a journey through cancer diagnosis, chemo, radiation and recovery (Dos Gatos Press, 3rd printing); Stirring Goldfish, a Sufi poetry book (Finishing Line Press), Names We’ve Never Known (Texas Review Press); Karla K. Morton: New and Selected Poems (TCU Press), Passion, Art, Community: Denton, Texas in Word and Image (the City of Denton, Texas); 8 Voices: Contemporary Poetry from the American Southwest, a collaborate work written by Morton and seven other prominent contemporary poets in the American southwest (Baskerville Publishing), Hometown, Texas: Young Poets and Artists Celebrate Their Roots (TCU Press) and Constant State of Leaping (Texas Review Press). Another book, No End of Vision: Texas as Seen by Two Laureates, features Ms. Morton’s black and white photography combined with poetry written by 2005 Texas Poet Laureate Alan Birkelbach. A traveling photography and poetry exhibit by the same name is also being shown in museums and galleries throughout Texas. Described as “one of the more adventurous voices in American poetry,” Ms. Morton has been featured on Good Morning Texas, NPR, ABC News, CBS News and in countless newspapers, blogs and magazines. She is frequently invited to present as a keynote speaker at conventions, conferences, bookstores, universities, festivals and schools. An avid photographer, Morton has also had many showings of her black and white artwork, has been nominated for the honor of the Texas 2D Artist and loves to mix poetry with other art forms. Morton was born in Fort Worth, holds a Journalism degree from Texas A&M University and currently resides in Denton, Texas. For more information, please visit www.kkmorton.com or www.facebook.com/karlakmorton


Media Contacts:
Kelly Kirkendoll 
Thrive PR for Karla K. Morton
817.236.6075 



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