No New Or Polished Coins

About the Book

The poems included in No New Or Polished Coins were written over a period of some thirty-eight years from a variety of sources and reflect a personal appreciation for and understanding of the human condition. Tempe Crosby's poems explore a wide range of subjects, including the many family and local history stories collected during her family history research, her church, her intensive reading and her life growing up in small town with the railroad as the dominate industry.

In this self-conscious age of instant, world-wide picture and word transmission, Tempe Crosby endeavored always to remain aware of man's need for genuine communications-dialogue, to be responsive to this need and to reflect and speak with understanding, meaning and transparence to and about man, about interpersonal relationships, about life-it circumstances, landscapes.

About the Author

Tempe Fenn was born in McComb, Mississippi, June 7, 1925, graduated from McComb High School in 1943, and attended Louisiana State University. Tempe and Ralph Crosby were married Feb. 21, 1954.

Tempe was an avid reader and a consummate genealogist. Her interests included reading, genealogy, photography (including black & white processing and printing), needlepoint, poetry, history, stained glass and art. She was a compiler and editor of church bulletins and sermons, coordinator of a Creative Writing Group, Church Historian and used her home to host numerous discussions, writings and poetry group meetings.

In addition to extensive family history research, Tempe compiled and edited (1) Sea Shells in Pairs-a birthday book of favorites, (2) Another Look-McComb High School Class of 1943 and assisted in the publication of the cookbook Quickies for Singles. She also assisted in the compiling and editing several book of poetry: Certain Days Are Islands, Of One And Many, Who's Afraid of Being Adam?, Journeyman, In No Fancy Words, Grant Father, and Betty Cunningham's Echoes of Time; some of her poems are included herein.

Tempe was listed in International Who's Who in Poetry, 1974-1975, held a membership in the National Society, Colonial Dames XVII Century and received awards for several of her color photographs and her black-and-white darkroom work. Tempe's oil painting, entitled Pythagoras, was exhibited in an Art Gallery by her LSU Professor, Ralston Crawford.

An MRI on May 3, 2003 confirmed that she had suffered a massive stroke. Tempe Crosby died July 31, 2006.