In his compelling, imaginative collection of poetry, Love Letters from an Arsonist (2023), David van den Berg treads through a grand old Southern literary campground of gothic, beauty and brutalism, religiosity, and nature—all in the same works. These are intense poems that cry out to be read and reread and absorbed, verses that will not […]
“The Beautiful Misfits” by Susan Reinhardt
June 12, 2023 by Leave a Comment
The Beautiful Misfits is a fascinating look into three distinct industries: television journalism, luxury cosmetics sales, and addiction rehabilitation. In each world, we learn that everyone is pushing something, whether information with an agenda, unrealistic standards of perfection, drugs and alcohol, or freedom from the same. Reinhardt’s protagonist, Josette “Josie” Nickels, ruminates on the opioid […]
“Hemlock Hollow” by Culley Holderfield
May 31, 2023 by Leave a Comment
InHemlock Hollow, Culley Holderfield takes readers on a fascinating two-fold journey as he skillfully interweaves the lives of twenty-first-century Caroline McAlister and nineteenth-century Carson Quinn. The story begins with Caroline, a professor of astroarchaeology, finding Carson’s journal in the cabin she is having restored. Her return to this Hemlock Hollow cabin after many years is […]
Read of the Month: “Red Clay Suzie” by Jeffrey Dale Lofton
May 30, 2023 by Leave a Comment
Named as one of the most anticipated LGBTQIA+ books of 2022 by Lambda Lambda Literary and winner of the Seven Hills Literary Prize for Fiction, Red Clay Suzie (Post Hill Press) was absolutely captivating. Calling it a page-turner does not do it justice, though its short chapters, sometimes only a few pages in length, make […]
“Tour of a Lifetime: Glenamaddy to Gomorrah” by Thomas Rabbitt
May 29, 2023 by Leave a Comment
When Thomas Rabbitt’s first acclaimed book of poetry, Exile (1975), won the prestigious Pitt award, he was a relatively young man. At that time, he was charged with starting a Masters of Fine Arts in creative writing program at The University of Alabama, a program he led to national prominence before retiring in 1998. Rabbitt’s […]
“The Boundaries of Their Dwelling” by Blake Sanz
May 17, 2023 by Leave a Comment
The Boundaries of Their Dwelling by Blake Sanz is an assortment of fiction short stories of high literary quality, with impressive details and imagery. The stories take place between Mexico, Florida, Louisiana, and Texas. The author is a master at fleshing out characters and effective in pulling and moving the hearts of his audience with […]