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Reviews of books by some of the hottest writers working today, exclusive author interviews, literary news and criticism.


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A review of Poems by Edna St. Vincent Millay
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Poetry Reviews Though Millay plays to the gallery a bit, mindful that she has a bit of a reputation to keep up (Byron did it too), she is a poet of substance. This fine, generous selection of her poetry includes also Aria da Capo, a one-act verse drama about xenophobia and the suspicion of the stranger.
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A review of The Blue Man Dreams the End of Time by Michael McIrvin
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Literary Fiction Reviews The tension between presence and absence (the dead sister’s but also humanity’s, the death of the individual and civilizations big thematic aspects of this novel) becomes palpable here in the tension between sound and silence, belief and non-belief, joy and longing, grief and ecstasy.
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The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope
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Literary Criticism The Way We Live Now is drenched in considerations of money and Trollope carries it off beautifully. For once what people will do for money and how their desires can defeat, disgrace, and humiliate them escapes the boredom that money as a subject commonly invokes. The connections are intricate, admirably stage managed, and have an impetus that some of Trollope lacks.
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A Salute to Spanish Poetry: 100 Masterpieces from Spain & Latin America rendered into English Verse by John Howard Reid
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Poetry Reviews Included in the listing of Poets are those from Uruguay, Portugal, Peru and Spain as well as Venezuela, Brazil, Cuba and Nicaragua, and finally Bolivia, Mexico, Chile, Argentina, and an American fluent in Spanish. Reid has included the works of men and women, monks and Jewish, young writers and elderly, those who rail againt government and those who speak of love.
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A review of Phoebe Nash, Girl Warrior by Justin D’Ath
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Books for Young Adults Its fast pace and relatively simple vocabulary makes it perfect for struggling readers, but it’s also a pleasurable and powerful tale for good readers of all ages, coupling action with deep characterisation and enough plot complexities to keep readers reading until the end.
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A review of Into the Yell by Sarah James
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Poetry Reviews Throughout the book, the imagery is always powerful – drawing from myth, fairy tales, a painter’s palette, Blake, medical terminology, the beautician’s rooms, the seaside, and above all, the natural world.
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A review of Joby, Uninterrupted -- Bittersweet Symphonies and Bohemian Rhapsodies [1989-2009] by Joseph Powell
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Poetry Reviews Joseph Powell is most concrete are in poems about life on the streets and about race issues. “Resolved: To Be Seen and Heard (An Invisible Man Speaks Out)” is about that initial drive to be heard as a writer and ends in quite an unusual fashion that is emotionally touching after following in the footsteps of others.
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A review of Southcrop Forest by Lorne Rothman
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Literary Fiction Reviews One of the fun aspects of this novel is the fact that author Lorne Rothman, who holds a doctorate in zoology and research work in ecology, chooses a hero who is a tent caterpillar.
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A review of Briefs by John Edgar Wideman
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Literary Fiction Reviews Overall, the stories paint very clear pictures, sometimes reading more like prose poetry, sometimes like anecdotes, sometimes with surprising turns, sometimes just resonating in lush language.
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A review of End of the Century by Chris Roberson
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Speculative Fiction End of the Century is a fun mix of fantasy and science fiction. The apparent villain, one Huntsman, provides much of the tension in the novel and appears to be the well-known fantasy figure.
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