Amy Susan Wilson Interviews Lara Bernhardt, Author of “Shadow of the Taj”

ASW: Good afternoon, Lara. It is great to have the chance to visit with you about your latest novel, Shadow of the Taj. This book addresses the hot-button issue of human trafficking of children, and one Western woman’s determination to help one child caught in a web of child prostitution. How did you come to write […]

Amy Susan Wilson Interviews William Bernhardt, Author of “The Ocean’s Edge”

ASW: Just yesterday I was reading The White Bird and now I’m finding myself engaged with your second and just-released poetry collection, The Ocean’s Edge.  Your weaving of themes that tie to family, and self identity, dovetail flawlessly alongside the weaving of popular culture and classical allusions in these poems. Collectively, these elements create quite […]

Amy Susan Wilson Interviews Minton Sparks, Singer-Songwriter and Poet

ASW: Good afternoon, Minton. It is great to jaw with you this afternoon about your southern roots and how you fuse songwriting with southern myth, reality, and spirit. In your latest music CD, and music video, “Gold Digger,” you paint a portrait of a woman in search of a sugar daddy, which is metaphorical of […]

“Retarded Girl Raised in Dog Pen,” by Lauren Leigh

Reviewed by Amy Susan Wilson Disabilities, a family murder, Mississippi, a mental institution, and the spirit of redemption all appear in Lauren Leigh’s debut novel, Retarded Girl Raised in Dog Pen. Every chapter, while often bearing brutal abuse in the household of a rural Mississippi family, rings like a bell, clear and resonant with no […]

Amy Susan Wilson Interviews William Bernhardt

ASW: Thank you, Bill, for taking the time to chat with me today about your book of poetry, The White Bird. Would you begin by providing us with an overview of this collection, and share what motivated you to write these poems? WB: I’ve been writing poetry for some time. Technically, according to my mother, […]

November Read of the Month: “The White Bird,” by William Bernhardt

Reviewed by Amy Susan Wilson Entering William Bernhardt’s debut poetry collection, The White Bird, is entering into the heart of human community. Always rich, often humorous, and at times poignant, these poems, which are diverse in style, guide us through the maze of parenting, longing, loss, working, traveling, and, among other things, falling in and […]