Kathleen Thompson holds a BS from the University of Alabama and an MFA in Fiction Writing from Spalding University. While her short stories and essays have been published in various places singly, she has four published books of poetry. (An avowed genre slut, she also has two novels and two collections of short stories in […]
“Legacy of Lies,” by Robert Bailey
April 22, 2020 by Leave a Comment
Reviewed by Claire Hamner Matturro Make no mistake, Robert Bailey knows how to write a dynamic, riveting legal thriller with depth and emotional integrity. He’s proved this before with his award-winning, best-selling McMurtrie and Drake legal series. As Southern Literary Review previously noted, this is an author who knows how to put the thrill back […]
“Ishion Hutchinson, Lord of Reggae Poetry and the Cornell Commons,” by Patrick A. Howell
April 20, 2020 by Leave a Comment
Lord Ishion Hutchinson, Lord of Reggae Poetry and the Cornell Commons I can bring a halo into the night cave, quiet with music (do not ask the music), to her shaded there in the moon; her fine spectacles steam their pond rings From “Black Space” (Poetry, January 2017) by Ishion Hutchinson The scepter of […]
Patrick A. Howell
April 16, 2020 by Leave a Comment
Patrick A. Howell is an award-winning banker, business leader, entrepreneur and writer. His first work was published with the UC Berkeley African American Literary Review and Quarterly Black Book Review. At Cal Berkeley, he co-founded Diatribe – a People of Color News Collective. Mr. Howell contributes to Huffington Post, Tishman Review’s Craft Talk series, Into […]
“Rich crop of women’s anthologies published in 2019, the International Year of the Woman,” Essay by Donna Meredith
April 15, 2020 by Leave a Comment
Essay by Donna Meredith Maybe they arose from the Fourth Wave of feminism that took hold in 2013, a movement focused on female empowerment. Perhaps they were further nourished by the “Me Too” movement that arose in 2017. No matter the source of inspiration, two important new collections of works by women found their way […]
“Weathering,” by David Havird
April 8, 2020 by 1 Comment
Reviewed by William Walsh Generally, when I read a book, for pleasure or review, I thumb through the weighted pages to feel the texture, the heft of what I can expect. Some may say that I harp on the tactile too much, but there is always the importance of the physical connection between the book […]
April Read of the Month: “To the Bones,” by Valerie Nieman
April 1, 2020 by Leave a Comment
Reviewed by Donna Meredith Edgy suspense, Scottish paranormal legend, and a beautiful river transformed into a wicked orange brew—these ingredients in the skilled hands of journalist Valerie Nieman create a whip-smart novel, To the Bones (West Virginia University Press, 2019). The story presents a classic hero’s quest in which an ordinary person discovers new strengths […]
Allen Mendenhall Interviews Joanne Kukanza Easley, Author of “Sweet Jane”
March 25, 2020 by Leave a Comment
AM: I’m glad our mutual friend, Johnnie Bernhard, connected us, Joanne. Johnnie has written for Southern Literary Review, and we’ve reviewed her books. How did y’all meet? JKE: Thanks for your time, Allen. I attended a book signing for Johnnie’s second novel How We Came to Be at a local library in the Texas Hill […]