AND THIS WAS MY HAPPY ENDING
Written and photographed by Kevin Staniec.
$7.95 + $3.99 shipping/handling.
Published by ISM quarterly, Copyright 2006.
ISBN 097760070X
When fate finds fiction, anything can happen… A love story from a man’s perspective. This narrative short views romance from a different angle with poetic prose and honest emotion.
Click here to download a PDF excerpt from “And This Was My Happy Ending”
Review
Inkspotter
Betty Dobson (Halifax NS Canada)
The first time I read Kevin Staniec’s And This Was My Happy Ending, I didn’t think too much about mechanics and style. I just let myself get drawn into the story. I felt the words as much as read them.
Much of my reaction stems from Staniec’s skilful poetic craft. Rhymes are buried inside lines and used with care and precision. By the time Staniec kicks the internal rhyme into full gear, you’re hooked.
The premise behind this book is at once simple and unique. And This Was My Happy Ending is, as the cover blurb declares, “a story of love from a man’s perspective.” In just 78 pages (each of them not much bigger than a large index card) Staniec explores the narrator’s emotions from the first meeting through the evolution of the relationship.
And This Was My Happy Ending is poetry for people who don’t think they like poetry. And if you already do, you’ll have a distinct advantage going in.
Does our narrator find his happy ending? It’s not my place to tell. I can only recommend you grab a hot cup of herbal tea, curl up in your favorite chair, and give yourself time to read this little book from cover to cover.
Review
Sassoon Fellowship
Nancy Golas-Flinn Ludwin
Kevin Staniec was born in Chicago and raised in Southern California and graduated from the School of Film and Television at Chapman University. The book was written and photographed by Mr. Staniec who currently is a teacher in the Creative Writing Conservatory at the Orange County High School of the Arts. He is an independent filmmaker, the editor/publisher of ISM quarterly and the author of poetry, fiction, non-fiction and screenplays.
“When fate finds fiction anything can happen… a story of love from a man’s perspective.” Thus starts this little book of emotional banter. Beautifully written in a free style prose, love and all its stages are poetically analyzed, dissected, digested, dismissed and returned all in one breath. The narrative rap, speaks to all who have rambled in our own heads about the rapture and heartache of love.
Albeit somewhat unconventional as a fiction piece, the author writes convincingly about how important love is, in lines such as:
“The second we were separated from our Mother, we were left alone in this world. Until we found another heart to accompany the rhythm of our life we will never know what it is like to live. Hearts were meant to beat together.”
The author shows us that even from a man’s perspective, love feels the same. This is a very thought-provoking book to read with some beautifully composed lines to enjoy.
Review
Appollo Lyre Reviews
Staff Writer
The first time I read Kevin Staniec’s And This Was My Happy Ending , I didn’t think too much about mechanics and style. I just let myself get drawn into the story. I felt the words as much as read them.
Much of my reaction stems from Staniec’s skillful poetic craft. Rhymes are buried inside lines and used with care and precision. By the time Staniec kicks the internal rhyme into full gear, you’re hooked.
My heart, beating, rhythmically competing, and defeating me. Each key, delicately caressed, dressed in ebony and ivory.
The premise behind this book is at once simple and unique. And This Was My Happy Ending is, as the cover blurb declares, “a story of love from a man’s perspective.” In just 78 pages (each of them not much bigger than a large index card) Staniec explores the narrator’s emotions from the first meeting through the evolution of the relationship.
And This Was My Happy Ending is poetry for people who don’t think they like poetry. And if you already do, you’ll have a distinct advantage going in.
Does our narrator find his happy ending? It’s not my place to tell. I can only recommend you grab a hot cup of herbal tea, curl up in your favorite chair, and give yourself time to read this little book from cover to cover.
Review
Lighthouse Literary Reviews
Courtney C.
Brilliant! This often lyrical piece of fiction was witty, thought-provoking, poignant and romantic. A fantastic tale of Kevin’s coffee shop romance full of what ifs and pregnant pauses, what could have been and what was. You are there to witness his confidence building towards encounter and to watch him evolve as a writer.
Wonderfully written and spectacularly told in just seventy-eight short pages, you will feel like you’ve lived a life time from cover to cover, complete with pictures. And who cares if Kevin is writing while living on the couch of someone else’s parents…. just as long as he writes!
Review
Fallen Angel Reviews
Naomi Lean (Grafton, NSW Australia)
At 27, Kevin Staniec has reached an impasse; he is perched on the precipice of a personal crisis. His thoughts and actions, or even lack thereof, will make their mark on the blank canvas of his journey to come.
The author bares his soul; his visions of love and being are openly jotted down. Thoughts are hidden in broken phrases which reveal all. Reading between the lines will have readers sharing the author’s insights into his own enlightenment. Kevin Staniec hungers for love, yet realizes that he must creep up on it quietly if he does not want to see it slip through his fingers. Over-analysis of such a fragile new emotion may cause it to crumble. The author’s musings are snapshots that will tempt readers to their own daydreams as they reread the clauses that resonate strongly within. The author uses language which is both poetic and abstract. He leaves openings in which you may find space for your own reminiscences. You may even discover wisdom in the silence.
Kevin Staniec does not merely hang onto threads of love and wanting; his epiphany makes for a satisfying conclusion. This collection of descriptive thoughts will leave you smiling as you find yourself sitting alongside the author, in a family-owned coffeehouse.
Review
Armchair Interviews
Andrea Sisco, (Minnesota, United States)
“When fate finds fiction, anything can happen…a story of love from a man’s perspective.”
Kevin Staniec is a teacher in the Creative Writing Conservatory at the Orange County High School of the Arts, an independent filmmaker, the editor/publisher of ISM Quarterly and author of poetry, fiction, non-fiction, and screenplays.
Staniec has produced a probing, insightful and moving collection of thoughts, letters and photographs that impact your heart and mind in a sweet, yet raw piece on life and love. He reaches out and grabs the reader’s attention with the simplicity of his ideas.
His entries are in the form of a timeline, often beginning with a word definition and continuing with his feelings at that particular time.
My favorite entry begins, “I was recently released from my job by reason of ‘early retirement’: on my twenty-seventh birthday. I considered it an involuntary career move.” A letter written to him is touching because it was written after the writer left him and his response is a reflection of his deepest feelings.
Many other entries you will read and then return to and read more slowly the second time to allow the rhythm of the words and their meaning to seep into your heart and consciousness.
Armchair Interviews says: Even if you are not a fan of poetry, And This Was My Happy Ending will move you.
Check out www.ISMcommunity.org for information about ISM and to purchase this stirring book.
Review
Euro Reviews
Sylvie (Brussels, Belgium)
I started reading and this was my Happy Ending wondering “Where are the poems?”. Reading a bit more, I realized this book is one of a kind, unique if I may say so, cause And this was my Happy Ending contains not only poetry but also has a short story and some nice pictures in between.
The story begins with the author, Kevin Staniec , telling us that he was recently released from his job (because he likes to compose novels in his head) and explaining what he does to let the days go by. I think everybody who has been without a job once, can find himself in his words, especially when he says “Routine was my every day” (p.9).
He goes to the coffeehouse, and tries to write (although he has never considered himself a writer); he decides that all he needs is “a happy ending”. Then ’she’ enters the coffeehouse.
You read about the “relationship” between the author, Kevin Staniec “I” and “she”. You read about love and separation, about mixed emotions, about the discovery of a new love…
Kevin Staniec writes on page 17: “Please read between these lines,…” and that is something you really should do when reading and this was my Happy Ending . It’s amazing how different this book reads when you keep that sentence in your mind. (I read it twice!)
I can only say that I loved this book. And this was my Happy Ending is a good combination of poetry together with a (love-)story and I can recommend it to anyone who loves to read. It sure is something different! I also think that you should read it at least two times; you really will be amazed! Kevin Staniec did a good job; and when he says he’s not a writer, I can only deny this and say he really and truly is!!!
Review
Heartfelt Harmony
S’hi D’Amour, (Victoria, Australia)
Okay gals, do you really want to know what a man thinks about a relationship?
If Kevin Staniec (being a man) is any kind of expert, and has broken the unwritten law that men are not to reveal their true feelings to women, then this beautifully presented little masterpiece should keep everyone happy.
Yes, it seems the escape route is the first thing planned – a man should never be seen caught off-guard, prepare for all contingencies.
Yes, they can be whimsical.
More definitely they can be confused, confusing and depressive. (don’t we already know that?) But all with an intriguing twist of phrase and thought.
Despite definitions, time zones and other implied certainties (isn’t that what photos are supposed to prove?), the only thing we can always rely upon is that a beautiful woman can transform everything!
(Or is he hinting that all the power still rests in the stroke of his pen/genius?
The mysterious power of love is never-ending.
A lovely little gift of possibility for Valentine’s Day.
Review
TCM Reviews
Elizabeth Young (Calgary, Alberta)
“and this was my Happy Ending” is a little book based on a big premise: Love. Written in a lyrical stream-of-consciousness style we get a peek at the complex emotional roller-coaster of relationships through the eyes of author Kevin Staniec.
As the protagonist makes his way through love’s many complex sides we are taken through an internal journey of a man who seems overwhelmed and unsure of his heart. He is forever searching for the meaning of love. We never know if this is for one particular woman or for all of them that had found refuge in his heart. In the end, this fact isn’t that important. The writing is luscious and, at times, musical. It is a style that may make some readers impatient, trying to move the language along to get to the “good parts” but that is precisely why his writing is perfect for this story. His point is that love cannot be reduced to easily digestible sound bites or uncomplicated tales. Each of the chapters begin with a definition of a word and ends with no real conclusion of it, instead it moves into memories, disappointments, and the belief that somehow this relationship, this person, this time, it will be different. It is, in it’s own way, a story of eternal hope.
It is definitely an interesting and refreshing read and worth checking out if you enjoy experimental and risky writing on a sentimental topic.
Review
Reader Views
Cherie Burbach
“And This Was My Happy Ending” is a small, artsy book with a cover, title, and subtitle (“when fate finds fiction anything can happen… a story of love from a man’s perspective) to pique a readers interest. The book consists mainly of stream of conscious poetry that intersperses with random thoughts, lists, letters, and photographs. It is a fast read – perhaps 10-15 minutes – and as the title of the book would suggest it is about a guy’s thoughts on love in which things, to put it simply, just do not work out.
“And This Was My Happy Ending” is creative, to be sure – with poem titles displayed as dictionary entries, and eight full pages that show photos of clouds the author has taken. The promise of this book hints at insight, however, much of the work does not reach the emotional level required to tug at the reader and leave a lasting impression of imagery. Still, I believe the world needs more poetry and the only way to make that happen is to support it. With that in mind, I encourage readers to investigate this work for themselves.
Review
Michelle Dunn
Michelle Dunn (New Hampshire)
A love story/diary from a man’s view. This is a fast read of poetry, thoughts and feelings that prompt you to keep reading. Every writer can relate, it begins with “I was recently released from my job” and goes on to his “routine” and then visits to the coffee house. Anyone who reads this little book will see a piece of themselves in it. It is better the second time around and is a quick read full of emotion.
