City of Gold

About the Book

The primary subject of this book is self-understanding. City of Gold is a collection of poetic meditations extolling the "inner light" that beams in all existing things--from gardenias , spring peepers, timber wolves, lilacs, Martin Luther King, Olympic athletes, loons, Marcos of the Zapatistas, and even in participants in the War in Vietnam. It is the culmination of the author's other four books of poetry - Eternity Can Wait, Snow in April, A Rain Washed Earth, and This Great Bazaar, all four of which will be re-published following City of Gold.

About the Author

Carl Nelson was born and raised on a dairy farm in north central Wisconsin. After graduating from high school and having some difficulty surviving the Great Depression, he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1940. After World War II ended, he left the Corps as a Captain and pilot of a torpedo bomber.

On completing his higher education with the help of the GI Bill, he pursued a career of varied occupations. However, they all allowed him to become publicly involved in social justice and in the peace movement. He very actively opposed the War in Vietnam and capital punishment, defended the principle of the "Separation of Church and State", marched with Martin Luther King in Selma, Alabama, became president of a local United Nations chapter, joined the League of Women Voters, and served as founder and first president of a conservation society. In fact he is a member of practically every conservation society that exists in the United States, as well as social justice organizations such as Amnesty International.

He is motivated by a radical spirit, but one passionately loyal to the founding principles of the United States - its Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, and the Bill Of Rights. This passion, together with a passion for the natural world, is reflected in City of Gold.

A spiritually centered in the world of nature that makes it sacred, he feels, is needed to save ourselves, our environment, and our world from the materialism that is destroying it all.

He and his wife recently celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary, with the help of children, and grand children. Many other relatives and friends also joined in.