AltWeeklies Wire
Hard Contraries Meet in 'God Particles'new
Thomas Lux's God Particles is replete with iron words -- language hardened by hammer and tong, images smoldering with bitterness and irony, a worldview grown misanthropic by the disappointments of human folly.
Charleston City Paper |
John Stoehr |
09-17-2008 |
Poetry
The Poetry in 'Satin Cash' is Never Less than Splendidnew
For poets and non-poets alike, Spaar's overriding theme -- how the "one" figures in the "many" -- is the stuff of life.
C-Ville Weekly |
Doug Nordfors |
08-13-2008 |
Poetry
Frank Bidart's New Poems Sing Hymns to a Meaningless Universenew
His excellent new book, Watching the Spring Festival, reflects a man feeling his age, the slip of time, and the tug of oblivion. It attempts to confront the paradox of being while trying to inscribe something lasting, and also expressing unblinkingly man's cosmic dilemma -- that maybe, just maybe, there is no exit.
Charleston City Paper |
John Stoehr |
08-06-2008 |
Poetry
Leslie Anne Mcilroy's 'Liquid Like This' is Passionate, Well-crafted Versenew
Mcilroy uses formal care to set off raw emotion, insurgent thoughts, a lubricated imagination full of jazz horns, yanked-up skirts, lipstick traces, let-down lovers, open wounds and cold beers.
Pittsburgh City Paper |
Bill O'Driscoll |
08-04-2008 |
Poetry
Why Do Books Like 'Zombie Haiku' Exist?new
Here's how I imagine it happened: Zombie author/Ohio youth pastor Ryan Mecum said to his friends, over nachos, "What kind of haiku would you write if you were a zombie?"
Philadelphia Weekly |
Liz Spikol |
08-04-2008 |
Poetry
Poems That Marry Domesticity with Wars Abroad in 'Old War'new
In Alan Shapiro's latest book, we find many poems where he masterfully describes what seems to be absolutely nothing.
'187 Reasons' is a Journey of the Soul, Race and Identity, Power and Strugglenew
Herrera's assemblage of essays, poems of varying degrees and form, songs and mixed-media work aims to confront what seems to be an eternal impasse for the Chicano: straddling the fence of an imaginary U.S.-Mexican border, hobbling at the edge of an identity and never quite being able to step onto one side or the other.
Jackson Free Press |
Brandi Herrera Pfrehm |
05-07-2008 |
Poetry
'The Immigrant's Contract' Is as Gripping a Read as a Great Novelnew
A book-length poem about manual work -- and rather dryly titled -- is an unlikely page-turner, but Kinsey pulls it off by amassing arresting details.
Seven Days |
Amy Lilly |
04-28-2008 |
Poetry
Just a Few Questionsnew
If Mark Doty's poems question us until we're certain, Rachel Zucker turns every statement into a question.
Sacramento News & Review |
Kel Munger |
04-11-2008 |
Poetry
Chris Vitiello's Linguistic Conundrumsnew
Reading Irresponsibility almost feels as though we've stumbled upon a writer's journal, full of copious note-taking and observation—as Vitiello might describe the process.
'The History of Anonymity' Both Approaches and Recedesnew
Jennifer Chang's poems make real use of the line, particularly the first of the batch, which is several pages long and shares the title of her collection.
C-Ville Weekly |
Sara Yenke |
03-12-2008 |
Poetry
Li-Young Lee's Poetry Lives Off Pagenew
In the age-old debate over whether poetry is, in essence, a literary art or performative one, the performers seem to have the upper hand.
Willamette Week |
Ben Waterhouse |
02-20-2008 |
Poetry
Collection Explores Writing as Revolutionary Activismnew
Spanning over a quarter century of conflict in the Middle East, and forwarding the voices of sixty poets from multiple nations, this collection offers an intricate understanding of what it means to resist, to give birth to change, to create meaning out of astonishing political chaos and violence
Sensuality and Storytelling Rulenew
Sheryl St. Germain offers a kind of time-lapse of two decades of her life and art -- it's a passionate, sometimes wrenching compendium with a few notable weaknesses.
Pittsburgh City Paper |
Bill O'Driscoll |
02-04-2008 |
Poetry
X.J. Kennedy's Latest Disappointsnew
While the usual X.J. Kennedy suspects—rhyme-and-meter mastery; a playful, often sardonic personality—thrive throughout, Peeping Tom's Cabin suffers from lethargy of theme.
