Reviewed by William Aarnes Two poems in Helen Losse’s new collection, Facing a Lonely West, stick in the mind. The playful “Poetry as Sloe Gin” offers a number of metaphors for poetry, suggesting that “Coleslaw generates some poetry upon occasion” and that “Poetry is the whole / of a schoolboy, not a select part.” The […]
“The Ice Garden,” by Moira Crone
February 24, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Reviewed by Lynn Braxton Moira Crone’s novel, The Ice Garden, set in the town of Fayton, North Carolina, in the early 1960’s, contradicts the prevailing belief that all children are naturally born into a world of blue skies and butterflies where everything is soft and warm. Ten year old Claire McKenzie, the narrator of this […]
February Read of the Month: “In The Night Orchard: New and Selected Poems,” by R. T. Smith
February 12, 2015 by 1 Comment
Reviewed by Brendan Galvin If a reader’s first demand for poetry is that it consist of language other than journalese, then this new and selected volume made up of seventy-three poems taken from eleven previous collections should provide a substantial view of R. T. Smith’s achievement. In Smith’s work there are none of the usual […]
“Heart of Palm,” by Laura Lee Smith
January 27, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Reviewed by Phil Jason Reprinted, with permission, from Florida Weekly. This is the one I’ve been waiting for. The big surprise. A debut novel set in Florida that has it all: family, community, dreams, secrets, the best kind of local color, tragedy, humor, hatred, compassion, love, change. It’s 2008. Arla Bolton Bravo, of the fashionable […]
“The Long Rifle Season,” by James Murray
January 23, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Reviewed by Yasser El-Sayed James Murray’s short story collection, The Long Rifle Season, is a beautiful rough diamond, as hard-tumble and razor-edged as it is luminous; its characters navigate harsh physical and psychological landscapes. In the hands of a less capable author, these stories might seem sensationalistic or gimmicky. In Murray’s, however, they are grit-lit […]
“My Sunshine Away,” by M.O. Walsh
January 20, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Reviewed by Michael Pitts In his debut novel, M.O. Walsh offers an exceptional mixture of adolescent exploration, intrigue, and violence. Weaving between the years of childhood, high school, and adulthood, the text is an exemplary addition to the Bildungsroman tradition with its central focus being the development of a young boy. This narrator must endure […]