Jefferson Carter’s grand collection of poetry, Free Hugs (Coyote Arts 2025) is a delight, displaying a perceptive talent for phrasing and filled with apt observations and acute insights. While Carter was an academic for a long while, these poems are not per se academic poems with heavy literary allusions but rather they are a kind […]
“Fish Kill” by Dennis Mitch Maley
August 18, 2026 by Leave a Comment
Can a quirky coalition comprised of a determined, grief-stricken widow, an aged political consultant nearly out of the game, and two alternative media journalists with gonzo journalism proclivities bring down some sleazy Florida politicians? And while they are at it, can this same gang find out who killed an outspoken activist who not incidentally targeted […]
Read of the Month: “Abundant Life: New and Selected Poems” by Hank Lazer
August 5, 2026 by Leave a Comment
Eclectic in theme and form, powerful in reach, and electric in impact, Abundant Life: New and Selected Poems (Chax Press 2025) by poet, scholar, and educator Hank Lazer is an intelligent collection of works selected from fifteen prior books, as well as new poems. This generous sharing of his poetry spans the years from 1994 […]
“Dirty Myrtle” by Kennedy Weible
August 2, 2026 by Leave a Comment
Dirty Myrtle (Apprentice House 2026) by Kennedy Weible is an oft-times zany crime caper novel set in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and it moves at a furious pace, filled with quirky plot twists, unconventional characters, and even quirkier twists of fate. In that regard, it is comparable to the zany crime caper novels of Tim […]
“Visual Cords” and “Dreaminations” poetry collections by Jianqing Zheng
June 2, 2026 by Leave a Comment
Jianqing Zheng’s Visual Cords (Broken Tribe Press 2025) and Dreaminations (Madville Publishing 2026) capture discrete moments in time with seamless beauty and often echo imagistic poetry with Zheng’s striking use of images and precise, concrete language. The poet, who spent his first thirty-some years in China and the last thirty-plus years in Mississippi, displays considerable […]