Working in the spirit of haikyo exploration culture, which emphasizes observation and documentation, Kuyatt builds poems that revel in specificity: a bowling alley with one hundred and eight unused lanes, a mostly shuttered mall in which a man tends aloe vera. Reading these poems through the lens of Kuyatt’s linked interests—meaning-making and ephemerality—we can appreciate why one might garden in a failing space.
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A review of Three Walled World by Ellery Capshaw
Act one opens with scattered recollections of her family, well set in the preternatural twilight of childhood memories alongside the more straightforward development of her early acting. From a class where she may have been half the age of the second youngest to serious auditions, one travels with Capshaw through the tempest of a life lived too early.
A review of Slipstream by Kristyn J. Saunders
We are taken in with the story of the daughter who has been hurt and is in hospital, but the observations and comments are fully poetic, allowing the reader to experience the sensations of mother and child in the rhythms and sounds of the words. In some of the poems a very discreet sense of humour is hidden. It is interesting to encounter one poem with a bit of history about Psychiatry services and English law about Leucotomy (Lobotomy) and art therapy.
A review of A Different Kind of Power by Jacinda Ardern
In A Different Kind of Power Jacinta Ardern gives some space to the ad hominem criticism she received while trying to bring about a fairer and more humane society in which no one was left behind. After first becoming a Member of Parliament in New Zealand, in 2008, she rose to the Prime Ministership, serving from 2017 to 2023. Her reader-friendly book is humorous in places, frank about her experiences as a woman and a mother, and a good introduction to present-day New Zealand.
A review of Trash Truck 7:38 A.M. by Ed McManis
There aren’t many love poetry books written to celebrate the mundane. In his new chapbook, Ed McManis writes a series of odes to mature, long-lasting love, exploring the nature of ongoing compromise, of the joy of co-existing with difference and dissent, of lost dreams and the ongoing anxieties of parenting, aging, and loss.
A review of Poems Talking to Poems edited by Jeffrey Levine and Kristina Marie Darling
Levine takes gems from his blogs and workshop material to create the frame for the book. “The Poetry Manuscript: Arts and Crafts” serves as an introduction to the granular exploration of what he calls “the art of transforming individual poems into a transcendent whole.” Every chapter Levine contributes requires poets to dive deeper into creative self-awareness.
An interview with by Sahar Swidan and Matthew Bennett
The authors of Mastering Chronic Pain talk about their new book and why they wrote it, the importance of empowering readers, biggest misconceptions about pian, how they began collaborating and what makes for a succesful collaboration, what’s in the pipeline and more.
New giveaway!
We have a copy of A Shapeshifter in Love – Marie de France’s Yonec and Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve’s the Beauty and the Beast, Parts One and Two translated by Katharine Margot Toohey to give away!
To win, sign up for our Free Newsletter on the right-hand side of the site and enter via the newsletter. Winner will be chosen by the end of December from subscribers who enter via the newsletter. Good luck!
A review of Aleph Bet by Sue Rose
But the main event is Rose’s wonderful poetry. Each of the poems is one long stanza, meditations on the meaning and appearance of each letter. In her Notes at the end of the sequence, Rose provides fascinating information about the background of each letter, including the numerical value of each, which ranges from 1for the aleph (א) to 400 for the tav (ת). The numerical values of the letters are key to gematria, Jewish numerology.
Creative Imagination: Unruly Tree and Self-Portrait as Vanishing Act by Leslie Ullman
Striking for their sharp focus and mesmerizing for their rich vocabulary, these collections transport readers to imagined realms that are also vividly real. It has been a productive year for this acclaimed poet and writing teacher, who released two new poetry collections within eight months of each other.