On January 7, 2021, the day after the attack on the U.S. Capitol, Mark Wish, along with his wife, Elizabeth, disturbed by what they’d seen on TV the previous evening, hoped to create a response, a reaction, a way to find common ground with Americans—all Americans. The product of their desire and vision? Coolest American Stories. And the first volume of this annual anthology of short stories, Coolest American Stories 2022, was wildly successful. It’s just gone to its fifth printing.
Author:
Bleeding Wilds: A Review of Country Songs for Alice by Emma Binder
One of Binder’s many talents is their ability to transport you to any location at any time, but especially those environments inextricably tied to nature, to the wild, to those places that awaken instincts that lie within every human being. In one poem that takes us to “the plains” we are told, “You need hooves or adaptations, like how the fox twists her shadow into scrap metal, to camouflage herself from hunters in their cars.
A review of Ekhō by Roslyn Orlando
Orlando commences in the prologue describing Ekhō. According to Mythology Ekhō (Echo) was a nymph of mount Cithaeron in Boeotia. She was cursed by the goddess Hera, who condemned her to only repeat the words of others as punishment for distracting her with incessant chatter while Zeus pursued his affairs. The poet expertly builds a picture of Ekhō, characterising her with humour and vivid imagery.
Covid Kaleidoscope: A Review of Sleep Tight Satellite by Carol Guess
Sleep Tight Satellite by Carol Guess is heartbreakingly human, beautifully vulnerable, and entirely unapologetic. Guess has brought forth a rich patchwork tying together poignant remembrances of the COVID-19 Pandemic and the complex web of queer relationships and identities.
A review of Gaza: The Poem Said Its Piece by Nasser Rabah
Oddly, or perhaps not, Nasser Rabah’s spirituality makes me think of Leonard Cohen. Maybe it’s those Zen-like questions (“Why do the details of things cough at night?” he asks in “Background Music for Life”). Or maybe it’s his vision of himself: “I am the prophet who lost his prophecy,” he writes in “Prophet of the Lost Way,” and later in the poem writes, “Die a little, and give me my first kiss: a star / to lean on and herd my pain with.”
A review of Divorce Towers by Ellen Meister
Toss in an attention-averse internet celeb, a shy New Englander fleeing an abusive spouse, the theft of a bejeweled faux Fabergé egg, an enigmatic dominatrix, and a gaggle of superannuated, hilariously rapacious divorcees, and you have a combustible mix. Divorce Towers is classic Ellen Meister — fast-paced, breezy, and funny AF.If you’ve liked Meister’s other offerings, you will surely love this one.
A review of Alive: Our Bodies and the Richness and Brevity of Existence by Gabriel Weston
Alive takes us on a tour of the body by chapter, from bones to lungs to kidney to womb. Weston works hard to turn an anatomy tutorial into a story – or perhaps infuse a story with a bit of a tutorial. Each section provides a scientific and historical overview of the organ in question, a personal narrative of a patient, and often a journey into the role of the treating physician.
Poems as Reliquaries: Diane Seuss, Modern Poetry and Contemporary Faith
The origins of Seuss’ work, as she reminds us repeatedly in Modern Poetry, are unpretentious. Her literary intellect has been assembled piecemeal from disparate elements, some Colette and Conrad here, a little Baudelaire and Morrison there. More importantly, her poetic prowess has evolved from a lifetime in lowdown trenches.
A Review of The Strings Are Lightning And Hold You In by Chee Brossy
The Strings Are Lightning And Hold You In, is a poetry collection that transcends time and history, weaving stories of tradition with the unfolding events of the present, connecting the wild with the domestic, and masterfully interlocking the spiritual with the tangible. In this collection, words become a conduit for much more than a story and yet are almost too little to contain its incandescent quality.
New giveaway
We have a copy of Grit & Grace: The Transformation of a Ship & a Soul by Deborah Rudell 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 Jan from subscribers who enter via the newsletter. Good luck!