There’s something wonderfully fresh and energetic in T. K. Lee’s innovative second poetry collection, Scapegoat (2022). Intricately layered, these poems are like looking through a kaleidoscope so that with each new viewing, something different and intriguing emerges from the words, images, and structures. These poems vibrate with words that dance about on the visual page […]
January Read of the Month: “Jar of Pennies” by John Yearwood
January 4, 2023 by Leave a Comment
John Yearwood’s Jar of Pennies (John & Stephenie Yearwood Management Trust, 2022) is an impeccably written cultural and historical crime fiction novel. The author knows how to spin a tale, capture a character, set a scene, portray a community, and write in stellar prose. However, as established in its opening chapter, it is not a […]
Claire Hamner Matturro interviews author John Yearwood
January 2, 2023 by Leave a Comment
CHM: Thank you, John Yearwood, for giving Southern Literary Review a bit of your time and attention with these questions. First, let me congratulate you on writing such a powerful book. Jar of Pennies is an excellent novel, categorized as “cultural heritage fiction” and “historical murder mystery thriller.” Though primarily, perhaps, the story of a […]
“A Mother Speaks, A Daughter Listens: Journeying Together Through Dementia” by Felicia Mitchell
January 2, 2023 by Leave a Comment
A profound and poignant collection of poems, A Mother Speaks, A Daughter Listens: Journeying Together Through Dementia (2022) by Felicia Mitchell can be read as a daughter’s memoir in verse or as a mother’s partial biography. Their merging stories are captivating and heartfelt, moving, and above all else, genuine. Anyone who has cared for a […]
2022 Book of the Year: “Wild Spectacle: Seeking Wonders in a World Beyond Humans” by Janisse Ray
December 27, 2022 by Leave a Comment
The editors of Southern Literary Review select one book each year to receive special recognition. It recognizes books published between October of the previous year to October of the current year. The Book of the Year should Be written by a Southern author or have a Southern setting. Have lasting value as part of the […]
2021 Book of the Year: “The Committee” by Sterling Watson
December 26, 2022 by Leave a Comment
The editors of Southern Literary Review will select one book each year to receive special recognition. The award recognizes books published between October of the previous year to October of the current year. Criteria The Book of the Year should: Be written by a Southern author or have a Southern setting. Have lasting value as […]