Reviews
The Book of Kells by Barbara Crooker
Review by Tasslyn Magnusson The Book of Kells, by Barbara Crooker, opens with the evocative line, “Night opens its woven basket,” (3) from the poem “Samhain.” This was unexpected and delightful. Unexpected as when the “Introduction” describes the Book…
Dressing the Wounds by Rebecca Hart Olander
Review by Jennifer Martelli In her poem, “Hurricane Necklace,” Rebecca Hart Olander writes Remember how you made those block cities, and my boyfriend knocked them down for you with a strand of Mardi Gras beads, shiny purple…
A Daughter’s Work is Heartless by Nature by Caledonia Kearns
Review by Kimberly Bowcutt A Daughter’s Work is Heartless by Nature, by Caledonia Kearns, elucidates the godlike wisdom and mortal labor required to forge a relationship between a mother and a daughter. Kearns crafts the language and symbolism in…
Look Look Look by Calista Buchen
Review by Lisa C. Taylor In this unique debut collection of prose poems, Callista Buchen, the author of two chapbooks of poetry. examines the darker side of pregnancy and motherhood. From the imperfect act of mothering to the loss…
Mercy by Shirley Camia
Review by Sherre Vernon Shirley Camia is a Filipina-Canadian poet and the author of four poetry collections: Mercy; Children Shouldn’t Use Knives; The Significance of Moths; and Calliope. Her collection Children Shouldn’t Use Knives won the The Manuela Dias Book…
We Got This, Edited by Marika Lindholm, Cheryl Dumesnil, Domenica Ruta, and Katherine Shonk
Review by Laura Dennis Single parenting can feel like a high wire act performed with no safety net, the empty platform forever just out of reach. Letting go of a bad marriage may have saved my soul and ultimately…
A Girl Goes into the Forest by Peg Alford Pursell
Review by Emily Webber A Girl Goes into the Forest by Peg Alford Pursell shines light on the transitions and transformations we go through in life and the changing relationships between parents and children. In each of the…
One Cupped Hand Above the Other by Ana C.H. Silva
Review by Kimberly Bowcutt Ana C. H. Silva’s recently published chapbook One Cupped Hand Above the Other is a perfect addition to her many existing published poems and artwork to elucidate her continued conversation that poetry is, as she said…
Happy, Okay? by M.J. Fievre
Review by Barbara Ellen Sorensen In Haitian poet M.J. Fievre’s latest book, “Happy, Okay?” readers are catapulted on a journey through the psyche of a woman navigating mental illness. Though these poems punctuate anxiety and depression, they are also abundant…
A Constellation of Kisses, Diane Lockward, Ed.
Review by Mindy Kronenberg Ah, the kiss, a gesture so ingrained in our cultural imagination in so many guises. We have Rodin’s immortalized smooch elegantly rendered in marble; Klimt’s glittering, embracing couple; Romeo and Juliet’s tragic buss; fabled frogs turned…
Bone Road by Geraldine Mills
Review by Lisa C. Taylor Geraldine Mills is a poet and fiction writer with five collections of poetry, three short story collections, and a children’s novel, Gold. Her numerous awards include the RTÉ Guide/Penguin Ireland Short Story Competition, the…
Dear Terror, Dear Splendor by Melissa Crowe
“As Far As Wishing Goes” Review by Cammy Thomas Melissa Crowe teaches in and runs UNC Wilmington’s MFA Program. Author of two chapbooks, Cirque du Crève-Coeur, and Girl, Giant, she has published widely, and is coeditor of Beloit Poetry…