Reviewed by Shaun Turner Lee Passarella’s collection of poems, Redemption, focuses on quiet revelations—frost-bent daffodil in mid-March, mother dog nursing hungry pups, box kite adrift over the ocean. Passarella chooses these images, both bare and beautiful, to show us moments of revelation. His poems take us on a journey of perception, deepened by surprising metaphors, […]
May Read of the Month: “Harlow,” by David Armand
May 7, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Reviewed by Dixon Hearne David Armand’s new novel, Harlow, is a compelling read on several levels. The story deals with universal themes of alienation, oppression, futility, resilience and hope – and all unfolding in raw and biting detail. Other reviewers have already parsed Harlow’s plot, character, setting, and theme. Far more salient in this new […]
“Emigration to Liberia,” by Matthew F.K. McDaniel
April 30, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Reviewed by Allen Mendenhall Emigration to Liberia is the story of the nearly 500 African-Americans who left Columbus, Georgia, and Eufaula, Alabama, from 1853 to 1903, to emigrate to Liberia, the West African nation that was founded in 1822 by United States colonization. Matthew F.K. McDaniel marshals evidence from written correspondence and newspapers to piece […]
“The Trench Garden,” by L.C. Fiore
April 16, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Reviewed by Donna Meredith In L.C. Fiore’s short story, “The Trench Garden,” which appears in the new Ploughshare’s Solos series, four men come together to restore a ravine in Tennessee while World War II rages on the other side of the ocean. With his clear prose, Fiore crafts a story that meets Poe’s primary directive: it strives […]
“White Trash,” by Alexandra Allred
April 9, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Reviewed by Michael Pitts In her latest offering, White Trash, former Olympian Alexandra Allred takes the reader back to the familiar town of Granby, Texas. In a place denoted by gossip and complicated social relationships, a young single mother acts as a commentator, comically analyzing the peculiarities of each person and social group. The text […]
April Read of the Month: “Wet Work,” by Donna Meredith
April 3, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Reviewed by Claire Hamner Matturro “This isn’t what Isaac Harewood hoped to buy with his money.” Not at all. Rather, in Wet Work, the latest novel by Tallahassee’s award-wining author Donna Meredith, Harewood expects to purchase a falsehood and restore his wealth at the expense of the well-being of the unsuspecting public. By donating millions […]