Reviewed by L. Lois
If It’s True
by April Krassner
Bottlecap Press
2026, 24 pages, $US10
A year ago, I was surrounded by men. Brilliant men, frustrating men, talented men, opinionated men. I wanted a hive with women buzzing. There, I felt, I would find what my writing was missing — an understanding nod from a sister or two. I craved a place where my obsession (disguised as diligence) would receive the cackle of acceptance.
New York City poet, April Krassner, was on my horizon. Krassner and I intersected via a clatch of poets committed to critiquing each other’s manuscripts. Our group bonded over not using he/him.
Fast-forward to early this year and Bottlecap Press’s snacking of Krassner’s work in the micro-chapbook, If It’s True.
…My daughter asks why we pronounce / the g twice in longevity…(“No Native Speakers”)
Krassner’s playful and poignant memories seep through nibbling poems inviting the reader to find a comfortable chair and a cup of tea. If the sun is shining brightly, we’re reminded that clouds also linger — there are shadows on these floors and walls. The past is inspected and questioned. Mothers will hover, long after they died in a car crash. And daughters will ask questions, now that we are the only mother left.
My daughter once asked and then asked again / What are neighbors? // and although I knew, I couldn’t explain… (“It Was All”)
The poet wanders back to a time when resistance made sense. A time when war became the enemy and a government could be convinced. The young were us, and we spoke with a power we believed we had — but, even then, self-doubts rose.
When I had to get away, I retreated into myself / and scared them. (“Dependent Clauses”)
Krassner’s poetry is narrative, confessional, and colloquial. Realism pushes self-pity out of the picture. Relationships are close, even when they’re a mystery to us. Circumstances require endurance. Life flips by in a series of lingering memories, with poems titled “Dependent Clauses” and “What Breathes Upon Us”.
In “Animal Behavior”, the poet reveals how the immediacy of life confronts her, and she withdraws to survive. In her private space, she no longer needs to persuade herself, there’s no more time for second-guessing, she is not ashamed, and she knows what’s in her nature to do. In her love of language, Krassner’s word-play reveals emotional truths with a touch of whimsy.
Clam down, / and stay closed even when boiled. No one / will eat you then. They will be afraid. (“Calm Down to Clam Down”)
This poet understands how silence can shift the narrative, but she’s also determined to lift her voice. She uses interior descriptions we recognize. There are the rooms in the homes where we grew up. The complexity of our memories of our parents. And those spirits that haunt us. Tuck yourself away with a poet who is connected with the young and with the break-neck speed of the swirl around us — experience what wisdom brings after times of quiet reflection. Expect to be comforted by the maternal.
…grief is, the burden of loss, / and the annihilation of optimism. (“New Years”)
…I want that back, / that faith in a world that was big and sloppy, / a project on which we could all work. (“New Years”)
Take a minute today and order a copy of Krassner’s artistry and poetic comfort for yourself. Support poets spreading their wings through Bottlecap Press’s chapbook list — personal art for the price of a glass of rosé. Get behind the artists who believe in poetry’s power to heal, one person and one poem at a time. Snack on words that will nourish your soul, If It’s True.
About the reviewer: L. Lois lives in an urban hermitage where trauma-informed themes flow during walks by the ocean. She is pivoting into her grandmother-era, figuring out why her bevy of adult children don’t have babies, while prioritizing writing, publication, and arts-related volunteerism. Her poems have appeared in North Dakota Quarterly, The Brussels Review, Washington Square Review, Hanging Loose Magazine, Chiron Review, Poetry Breakfast, among other publications. L. Lois is an Associate Member of the League of Canadian Poets, is part of the editorial team at Quibble Lit, and freelances as a business feature writer and poetry workshop leader. A selection of her published work is linked at https://poeting.my.canva.site.