Dead Poems - the Foreword
by Reed Singleton
This work is a collection of writings and drawings made by my grandmother,
Ann Starling, while she was involuntarily confined in a place known
as Cambridge Mental Hospital. In her time, she was considered a 'sensitive',
a person with great intuition. She made no secrets about her gift,
and frequently proffered advice to everyone who cared to ask for it,
and even some who didn't. I believe it was these boldfaced professions
that eventually saw her committed to the mental hospital.
Perhaps there is some truth to the insanity rumors, but I prefer to
believe that she had a unique ability to receive messages from others
who had gone before her; that what seemed to be rambling monologues
were actually one side of a dialogue between Ann and the Spirit World.
This collection is , therefore, especially important. It may not only
contain my grandmother's own words and artwork, but the messages of
others, especially patients at the mental hospital.
I truly believe in her abilities as a sensitive, and believe there
are secrets waiting to be revealed; hidden somewhere in this compilation
of psychic writings. For Ann to produce such a dissimilar and captivating
collection of poetry and drawings, is proof enough for me to believe
she acted as a channel for the dead. Hence the title choice, Dead
Poems.
Reed Singleton
revised August, 2004