In her essay collection Sea World Tales, Debra DiPaolo tells the story of an elderly communist man who travels to the U.S. to visit his son. Soon after his arrival, his son takes him to Sea World to watch the “Shamu the Killer Whale Show.” The show is a reenactment of George Washington crossing the […]
Prose
Alice James Books: The Far Mosque
ISBN 1-882295-53-1 $14.95 paperback Review by Jeffrey Ethan Lee There is an intricate interweaving of themes, symbols, and allusions and leitmotifs that make Kazim Ali’s first full-length poetry book, The Far Mosque, resonate with a sense of great drama. One follows the lyric voice through mostly short, self-contained lyrics, but their greater strength lies in […]
Miriam N. Kotzin and Bill Turner: A Writing Partnership
For us to be working together is about as likely as being struck by lightning, a comparison that for us holds particular personal significance. After all, when we first read each other’s work, we were sixteen hundred miles and cultures apart. Bill Turner was in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico teaching and doing web design for a […]
Miriam N. Kotzin and Bill Turner: Softy
“Spin me. Roll me around in the corner of your mind. Cynicism is so passé. I’m the electric pulse of your brand new conscience. Kiss me and feel the surge,” Voice says. Martin has been hearing the voice for weeks. He’s been afraid to tell anyone. He doesn’t want to sound like one of those […]
Mercer Bufter: The Truant Lover Review
Juliet Patterson’s The Truant Lover (Nightboat Books, $14.95) strikes a rich, full chord, delivering moments of disjunction as well as high lyric beauty. While sampling or adapting work from a host of sources including Rae Armantrout, Tomaz Salamun, Richard Meier, Emily Dickinson, Marcel Proust, Grey’s Anatomy and The Golden Book of Birds, Juliet Patterson weaves […]
Lane Anderson: First Day Back
Contents of the Newlyweds Kit given to me, in a yellow plastic bag, as a free gift from the State of Utah when I obtained my marriage license: 1 trial-size packet of Tide detergent with color-safe bleach 2 purse-size packets of Kleenex 1 trial-size box of Nabisco Wheat Thins crackers 1 romance novel about a […]