poetry

Book Review Folk Gospels At the time of writing, I am sitting, alone, at a brewery in downtown Wilmington, North Carolina. I have just finished reading Nick Hilbourn’s Folk Gospels for the third time. All around me people are milling about, locals and out-of-towners, employees and patrons. Together, we are a collection of human experiences. […]

Book Review And & And Last month, I reviewed Kate Quinn’s poetry collection Blue Rose, which was a book-length love letter to the show Twin Peaks. Where that collection pulled so much inspiration from one source, Bob King seems to pull inspiration from every facet of his life. This collection, as the name may imply,

Book Review Blue Rose Kait Quinn has described Blue Rose as “a poetic homage to David Lynch’s Twin Peaks, [that] echos the show’s enigmatic charm and mystery to reveal a world where truth is a prism, shadows dance with light, and nothing is as it seems.” While this is true, I don’t think that homage

Book Review Stand in Old Light Stand in Old Light by Matthew Porubsky is “a stream-of-consciousness look at examining memories and emotion, letting the interpretation flow like water around obstacles in a stream, unrestricted from its continuous sojourn.” This is the poet’s sixth collection, and in it, he examines nearly every aspect of identity. For

Book Review A tale of being, of green and of ing A tale of being, of green and of ing is a sprawling, ambitious collection from the poet Yewande Adebowale. A meditative collection, told in three parts, equally distributed in sections of 21 poems, A tale of being runs the gamut of philosophically charged questions.

Book Review Until the End of Time Until the End of Time by Mia Herman has perhaps the greatest, most salient blurb of any poetry book I’ve reviewed in this series so I am including it in full.  “Showcasing a wide range in form, imagery, and language, this dazzling debut, at its core, is a love

Book Review Suitably Mangled Suitably Mangled by Lee Gill, a chapbook published by Bottlecap Press, explores the author’s experiences with addiction, racism, mental illness, general societal ills, and spiritual revelations. It is a lot to cover in a mere 36 pages, but Lee Gill does his best to deliver. This book explores themes of both

Book Review Letters from Conflict Letters from Conflict by Lisa Stice is a poignant and engaging epistolary poetry collection that travels across borders (of both time and space) to engage in conversation with a diverse array of voices. Through her poetic correspondence with artists and poets from around the world, Stice, a seasoned poet and

Book Review Dawn’s Incision Dawn’s Incision is poet David Hanlon’s debut full-length collection, published by Ice Floe Press. In advance praise of the book, Alan Parry said, “Head first, [Hanlon] takes on love, loss, and a deep sense of longing. Each poem in this collection expertly blends vivid imagery with emotional resonance and invites readers

Book Review Birds, Bones, & Melancholia Birds Bones & Melanchola – Nanaviti was published in August 2023 and is a deeply internal, personal, and hauntingly beautiful poetry chapbook collection.  Author Anushri Nanavati best summarizes the inspiration for the book: “Birds have hollow bones, continually flying and falling from highs to lows, and therein lies the

Book Review Murmurs of the Wastebasket Taxa Murmurs of the Wastebasket Taxa by Chloe Skye Landisman was released by Bottlecap Press in 2023. Landisman’s debut chapbook includes 24 pages of beautiful Polaroid images and Koan poem-inspired vignettes. It is a hybrid work that invites readers into a world where animals navigate the Anthropocene’s altered landscapes.

Book Review Reacquaint Reacquaint is poet Allison Thung’s debut chapbook. It was published in February 2024 by Kith Books. Allison Thung aptly describes the themes in her book as “chronic illness, (over)thought & memory, speculation & escapism, and love & friendship.” It’s a beautifully ambitious, wide-ranging, and expertly penned debut chapbook. Her prose poems are

Book Review Duets Where to begin? Creativity abounds in this collection. The name Duets aptly implies what one will unearth within the pages. Melodies explode off the page with each carefully curated artistic interpretation, alongside words that somehow breathe more life into the artwork. Whether poetry or prose, this book is filled with stories that sing. Marques

Book Review Celine, An Elegy “Life is no way to treat an animal,” the words leap off the page from the first poem. They demand attention. For anyone who has loved and lost a pet, Celine, An Elegy, will capture the reader’s heart. Bryan takes his grief to the pages, and the result is stunningly poignant.

Book Review Serpent’s Lap Serpent’s Lap slithers into the reader’s mind with palpable viscosity. A slow smoke entrances page after page, engulfing one in a fortress of knowledge. Porubsky conjures his poems with spell-like certainty and a deft hand, opening with “Transmogrify” is a testament to this, “…I use a curved knife, peel wood pieces in

Book Review The Beautiful Losses The Beautiful Losses is a true testament to the passage of time and how much can be gleaned if one only pays attention to the now. Ever-present, Pollack executes an exactness with his poetry, somehow granting levity and gravity simultaneously. Through his words, one travels and begins comprehending how Pollack has