8 minute read
Book Reviews
POETRY BOOK PICKS
Tips for Domestic Travel
Advertisement
by Hayden Saunier (Black Lawrence Press, 2009)
Hayden Saunier’s Tips for Domestic Travel isatourdeforceoffiftypoems. Perhapsitistheauthor’sactingexperience that makes her able to inhabit so manyprismaticvoicessoconvincingly. Althoughtherearemanypoemsinthis collectionthatalludetothegriefoflosinganagingparent,eachpoemwalksa new path, and none of it feels overwrought. Saunier’s careful eye scrutinizes every angle of life through the lens of history, domesticity (removing carpeting from stairs, pulling shirts down from the attic), and travel. “I’m used to living/with the dead; they ’re everywhere, ”saysSaunierin“Beach. ”
Thesearevariedpoemsinlength,form and seriousness. The speaker has a frank, charmingly unvarnished voice: intheworldofSaunier'swork,neglectedpuppetssport" ...theuniversalposes of the hanged" ("Untangling Marionettes")andawatchfoundinthe garden ("the night before the war began... ") is a ticking reminder of "so many things that do not belong to us,/buttheyarehere,andours. "
Saunier appears to take us to the edge of mortality, daring us to look over the edge,beforepullingusbackwithsome smallredemption.
— Liz Chang
He Looked Beyond My Faults and Saw My Needs
by Leonard Gontarek (Hanging Loose Press, 2013)
In contemporary poetry, there is a tradition of sparse, conversational language with a twist (James Wright, Louise Gluck). Leonard Gontarek’s new book ofpoetry, He Looked Beyond My Faults and Saw My Needs isverymuchinthis tradition,whileaddingbrilliantmoments ofhumorthatareallhisown. Hispoetryisnotsadormorbid,butheisinlove with the slanted image, the unexpected phrase.
In his first poem of the book, he writes, “JacksonPollockisafloatinhislife/with a view of burning cruise ships. ” He doesn’t back off from adding his own compellingvoicetotheimage: “Ithink of Pollock when I am walking the edge /of a field in autumn imprinted with shadowsofleaves. ”
But he doesn’t stop with the image and thepersonalvoice. Gontarekhasawonderful knack for shaking things up to make sure we don’t become too sentimental. His poems don’t ask for compassion, much less pity, for the poet. They are not pedantic or trying to show off. Buttheyareveryhumanandwonderfully imaginative. They just seem to say,
“Follow me, and if I stumble, bear with me” , and the laying out of their vision is worthy of the reader’s most attunedandhumanattention.
i would ruby if i could
by Margot Douaihy (Factory Hollow Press, 2013)
Margot Douaihy ’s chapbook i would ruby if i could takes its name from a line in one of the poems in the collection called “Text Me. ” Asort of double cinquain, the first part consists of lines that could be generated by the predictivetypingonacellphone,while the second part repeats the same lines with the actual intended language.
Awakening sexual relationships between women and the universal experienceofcopingwiththeendofarelationshiparetwothemesthatappearthroughoutmuchofthecollection,buttherange oflensesthroughwhichthesethemesare viewed is impressively broad. While there’s plenty of longing for lost love expressedhere,there’salsoasenseoftryingtoachieveclosure,asinthetwotrioletpoems“LateWinter”and“TooLate, ” which nearly bookend the collection. Bothechotheideathat,justasinthenatural world, sometimes there are places betweentwopeople“ wherenothingwill grow. ” The final, sonnet-like poem, “Game Over, ” declares a change in the speaker’s past relationship patterns of beingthefirsttoleave. The“turn”comes in the final line and a half: “This time, I’m writing myself Awake./ Fuck The End; itwilltellitself. InthisstoryIkiss you. I stay. ” These lines may also be a declaration of Douaihy ’s presence as a writer, remaining awake and open to whereherpoetrymaytakehernext.
Talking “White”
Maria James-Thiaw ’s most recent collection of poems, Talking “White, ” compels its readers to sort the knotted threads of race, gender, sex, work, family, and language. It sounds heavy —and, at times, it is. James-Thiaw uses a confident voice throughout her collection and relies on direct, unambiguous language.
The poems in Talking “White
” locate their writer in the contemporary position of a black woman in academia. Some poems look at race through the prism of family history. In the poems “Big Mamma Blue” and “Virginia Slims, ” we meet a female saxophone virtuoso and a pair of “dapper dans”: “sons of house slaves [who] don / three piece suits, patterned silk ties… ”Bothofthesepoemsareprinted next to reproduced photographs of the subjects they discuss. JamesThiaw challenges expectations based on gender and race while linking herself to a long, complex history.
In Talking “White,
” Maria JamesThiaw resists too-simple dichotomies. Her poems are prickly and a little unsettling—and they don’t offer the reader easy, definitive options. Instead, she demands that her readers examine the knots made of so many threads that wind through our own lives and experiences.
— Courtney Bambrick
Master the
Art of Writing
Rowan University offers an M.A. in Writing for writers who are serious about perfecting their technique. This interdisciplinary program features: Classes in Creative Writing, New Media, Journalism, & Composition Studies Individual Attention Small Seminars & Workshops Professional Development Opportunities
Graduate Certificates are also available in Creative Writing, Editing & Publishing, Writing & New Media, and Writing: Composition & Rhetoric.
PUSHTO PUBLISH
Strategies and Techniques to Get Your Work in Print and Online
October 12, 2013 9:00am- 5:00pm
Rosemont College | 1400 Montgomery Ave. | Rosemont, PA 19010 Rosemont College | 1400 Montgomery Ave. | Rosemont, PA 19010
Keynote speaker: Michael Martone
“I loved it. From the “I loved it. From the keynote speech, to the keynote speech, to the agents/editors panel, it agents/editors panel, it was perfect.” was perfect.”
— — 2012 attendee 2012 attendee
Visit www.philadelphiastories.org for Visit www.philadelphiastories.org for schedule and registration details. schedule and registration details.
Apply Now! For more information visit RowanCGCE.com/Communication or call 856.256.4747
Michener Level ($25 - $40)
Adrienne Jenness Alan O’Leary Angela Speakman Anne Hunter Barb & J.J. Cutler Barbara Bloom Brian Kraft Carlo & Sharon Spataro Carol Towarnicky Carolyn Guss Charles & Kathy Shattuck Charles McGray Christian Thompson Christine Obst Concha Alborg Constance Salidis Dana Lotkowski Dave Stiles Deborah Burnham Diana Krantz Dianna Sinovic Dolores Verdeur Dorothy DiRienzi Ed Kratz Ed Ruggero Eileen Suzin Odlen Elizabeth Bodien Elizabeth Cosgriff Elizabeth Ticknor Eve Hoyt Faith Paulsen Fereshteh Herrman Frances Metzman Freda Egnal Helen Mallon Jacqueline Hopkins James Fratto Janine Pratt Jeffrey Klemens Jennifer Corey Jennifer Ward Jessica Herring Jill Belack Joseph Cilluffo Joseph J. Feeney Josephine A. Graham Judy Dinnerman Judy Heller Julia Aislinn Bohren Karen McLaughlin Kathleen Carlin Kathye Fetsko Petrie/Michael Petrie Katie Braithwaite Kay Peters Kristin & Henry Joy McKeown Linda Wisniewski Liz Dolan Marilyn Carrier Mark Zettlemoyer Marlene Richter Mary & Owen Gilman Mary Clarke Megan Greenholt Melissa Trask Davy Michael Neff Mo Ganey & Don Kates Nancy Capizzi Nancy duPont Natalie Dyen Nicole & John Monaghan Patti Nagel Regina Hastings Rich Casamento Robin Bonner Rosemary Cappello Ruth Littner Sandy & Jean Hofer Suzanne Carey Zielinski Suzanne Chang Tara & Andrew Smith Thomas Baroth Tom Molinaro Veronica Stickelman Virginia Dillon Xio Axelrod
Buck Level ($50 -$99)
(2 Anonymous)
Alison Baer & Jeffery Hirsch Barry Dinerman/Monroe Buckner Betsy Mckinstry/Joel Edelstein Bryan Wang Christine & Tom Barnes Christopher Beardsley Dana & Chris Scott Daniel & Carolyn Barry Daniel Gordon David Sanders & Nancy Brokaw Douglas Gordon Eileen Cunniffe Frank Diamond Gillian Bedford Hugh & Trina McCauley Irene Fick Joanne Green John & Karen Shea John & Phyllis Taylor John M. Williams/Marie Davis-Williams Julia Rix Julie Cohen & Nigel Blower Karen & Dan Gruen Kevin & Beatrice Hogan L.M. Asta Lawrence O. Spataro Leigh Goldenberg/Aaron Bauman Lise Funderburg Lynn Doerr Lynn Pompa Lynn Rosen & Evan Schwartz Margaret & Craig Griffen Marlynn & Randy Alkins Martha Bottomley Martin Evans Mary Scherf Rachel Simon Richard Bank Richard Virtue Robert & Helen Cook Ronald Holtman Sharon Sood & Scott Lempert Stephanie Scordia Suzanne Kimball Terry Heyman Thomas & Meriam Rush Tim Kissell Virginia Lofft
Whitman Level
($100 - $400)
Annalie Hudson Minter Barbara & Eric Holmberg Carol Oberholtzer Conrad Weiser & Barbara Holmberg Hermann W. Pfefferkorn James Zervanos Janice Hayes-Cha & Jang-Ho Cha John Higgins Joseph Wechselberger Julia Chang Kathleen Furin Ken Rodgers Margot Douaihy Nathan Long Paul & Cecie Dry Paul & Janice Stridick Polia Tzvetanova Richard Mandel Robert & Judy Schachner Stefanie Levine & Steven Cohen Sue Harvey Virginia Reid
Potok Level
($500- $999)
Judith & Walter Jones Kerri & Marc Schuster Michael Ritter/Christine Furtek Mitchell Sommers
W.C. Williams Level
($1000+)
Cheryl & Ross McLaren Heather McGlinn Hansma & Scott Hansma Joseph A. Sullivan Thomas McGlinn
Sustainer Members
Courtney Bambrick (Buck Level) Julie Odell (Whitman Level)
Building a community of writers, artists, and readers across the Delaware Valley
A MAGAZINE THAT CREATES COMMUNITY Thanks to member support,
Philadelphia Stories has been serving the writing community of the Greater Delaware Valley since 2004 in the following ways:
* Publishing 5,000 print copies of a free quarterly literary magazine, featuring writers and artists from the DelawareValley, and making this free publication available at more than 200 locations, including all branches of the Free Library of Philadelphia. * Offering reasonably priced conferences and workshops for writers. * Hosting readings and other social events for writers. * Publishing books through our boutique imprint, PS Books. * Hosting two national contests, one for fiction and one for poetry. * Supporting a community of young Philadelphia-area writers through Philadelphia
Stories, Jr., a new print and online magazine by young writers.
YOU can help keep Philadelphia Stories—a non-profit 501c3—in print and free by making a donation today! For as little as $25 a year, you can get home delivery and know that your gift directly supports the local arts community.
I understand the importance of providing arts and culture that is accessible to everyone through a publication like Philadelphia Stories. □ Michener($25-$49) □ Buck ($50-$99) □ Whitman ($100-$499) □ Potok ($500-$999) □ W. C. Williams ($1,000+) □ Other _______________
Here is my donation of $ __________________ □ I want to become a monthly supporter (Philadelphia Stories Sustaining Member).
Please, charge my credit card monthly for the above amount (minimum of $5.00/month), until I say stop. □ Donation enclosed □ Check □ Credit Card □ Automatic Renewal: Please charge my credit card annually until I tell you to stop.
Name: _________________________________________________________________________________________ Address: ________________________________________________________________________________________ City: ______________ State: _________ Zip: _______ Email: _________________________ Phone #: ______________ Card Number (MC, V, Discover): _______________________________ Security Code: _________ Expiration: __________
