Ballet is probably not the first kind of dancing people associate with Appalachia, Edwina Pendarvis acknowledges in the introduction to Another World: Ballet Lessons from Appalachia. Yet for the twenty-four women Pendarvis interviews for this engaging book, ballet assumed considerable importance in their lives. The fond memories and photographs of ballet lessons gathered for this […]
“Hell of a Book” by Jason Mott
November 16, 2022 by Leave a Comment
You’d think it would be easy to write a hell of a book review for a book titled Hell of a Book (Dutton, 2021). It isn’t. Jason Mott pulls off a literary magic trick that’s hard to define. Mott manages to swirl humor, imagination and lyrical language through the grim story of a Black child […]
“Creole Soul: Zydeco Lives” by Burt Feintuch and edited by Jeannie Banks Thomas
November 15, 2022 by Leave a Comment
I first encountered zydeco on a visit to New Orleans. I was enthralled by the banging beats of Buckwheat Zydeco. The Cajun music I had heard previously in NOLA was good enough, but I could take it sitting down. Zydeco demanded that I get up and dance. Zydeco combines the energy of rock and roll […]
The Hamilton Stone Review
November 14, 2022 by Leave a Comment
Current issue no. 47, Fall 2022 Poetry: Ralph Burns, Michael Hettich, Erin Wilson, Beckian Fritz Goldberg, Kelsey Phillis, aggie Kennedy, Claire Scott, L. Henry Farrell, Jen Karetnick, Richard Weaver, Kathleen Hellen, Barry Seiler, Toti O’Brien, Jeff Newberry, Cortney Davis, Jan Ball, Tony Beyer, Jo Angela Edwins, L. Annette Binder, J.R. Solonche, and Lynn Gilbert. Prose: […]
November Read of the Month: “Milk Blood Heat” by Dantiel W. Muniz
November 3, 2022 by Leave a Comment
In Milk Blood Heat (Grove Press, 2021) Dantiel W. Muniz serves up a savory, delicious stew of short stories in an outstanding debut collection. The stories are set in the steamy cities and suburbs of Florida centered on Black residents and their communities. Female voices and themes predominate. This collection is a rare gem in […]
“The Kingdoms of Savannah” by George Dawes Green
October 19, 2022 by 1 Comment
The Kingdoms of Savannah (Celadon Books, 2022) reads like a fine literary suspense novel, a top-tier mystery. But Kingdoms triumphs in extending the boundaries of the genre. George Dawes Green unearths so many long-buried layers of history with such drama, such flair, such artistic skill that readers may not even be aware they are reading […]