Justin Hamm’s American Ephemeral, Reviewed by Francine Witte
Justin Hamm American Ephemeral Kelsay Books/Aldrich Press Reviewer: Francine Witte If you didn’t take the often-desired road trip through the America’s heartland this past summer, fear not. Justin Hamm’s second book, American Ephemeral, is a beautiful swirl of poetry and photos that just might make you feel as if you are barreling down a highway […]
Eleanor Goodman’s Nine Dragon Island, Reviewed by David E. Poston
Eleanor Goodman Nine Dragon Island Zephyr Press Reviewer: David E. Poston Of her award-winning translation of the poetry of Wang Xiaoni, Eleanor Goodman has written that Wang Xiaoni’s work is marked by “keen detail and the use of ordinary objects—potatoes, trains, mountains, sunlight, dust rags—to create emotional resonance. She leans toward simple but penetrating language, […]
Karen Volkman’s Whereso, Reviewed by Wynn Yarbrough
Karen Volkman Whereso BOA Editions Reviewer: Wynn Yarbrough Karen Volkman has published books now for over eighteen years. In that time, her four collections of poems have varied in formal arrangements and stylistically in terms of line length and compaction. Her previous releases—Crash’s Law (1998), a mix of forms; Spar (2002), a mixed prose form […]
Introduction by John Amen
Introduction by John Amen One of my first & most enduring literary impressions re the catastrophic impact of war, on the individual psyche & society at large, is the example of Septimus in Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway. While S occupies relatively little text compared to narratives related to Clarissa Dalloway & her looming party, he […]
Introduction and Poems by William Blackley
Introduction by William Blackley Thanks to John Amen for the opportunity to read many of the 3000 or so poems submitted for this special edition of war poetry. Thanks as well to John and Stefan Lovasik for what was an exciting and fruitful editorial process. The poems were extremely powerful and evocative. Choosing to add […]
