Editor's Note: Not so much reviews this month, as these are really just announcements about collections that have come to our attention and appear to still be available. Check them out -- all three seem like very worthy collections!
St.
Mary's Art Cloister
A Collection of Poems
by Doug Tanoury
from
Funky Dog Publishing
dtanoury@comcast.net
This collection came as a PDF ebook directly to my email-box, but you can also find the collection on the Funky Dog website as and html ebook, too. I didn't see anything about how to purchase the PDF, but we're providing contact information here, so you can contact Funky Dog directly and inquire. It's a great collection one its own, but also put it in the company of the likes of Larry Jaffe and others at the Funky Dog site, and you have a hit that can't miss :) Seriously, check it out. These poets know their craft and are sharing their creative gifts!
The
Startled Land
by Rochelle Mass
from Wind
River Press
ISBN 0-9721513-3-8 (trade
paperback)
ISBN 0-9721513-4-6 (PDF
eBook)
LOC 2002152380
$14.00 (Retail USD)
The collection is an interesting melancholy, well-crafted, and full of images via words that are stark, simple, yet overwhelming and -- even alarming in their simplicity. Hard to explain. Things like this excerpt from the poem Birthing:
I
should have
had more children.
A
daughter in this dry land
is hardly a birthing...
I can't exactly deconstruct why it alarms me, but these mere 16 words tell a world history that makes me so sad, frustrated, and at the same time motivates me to want to be a peace activist, change the world with poetry, demand that we all stop killing each other in the name of one G-d or another. I don't know. Like I said, hard to explain. But definitely riveting. Check it out!
Green
Surprise of Passion
Writings of a Trauma Therapist
by Shirley Glubka
Blade of Grass Press
ISBN 0-9666481-0-2
Phone of publisher: 207-469-2917
Have to say that when I first got this one, I was disturbed by the bluntness of the cover and layout. But I think the form serves the content. This some raw material -- I don't mean that it isn't well-crafted - but that it is raw and honest and real. And yet there is a grace to the character voice of the therapist whose eyes we share as we move through this landscape. These creations are based on some of the authors actual work in the field of trauma therapy -- maybe that is where the honest comes from. But that also makes it heartbreaking to read at times. I found myself in awe of the people who not only lived through these events, but went on to seek help, share their stories, and [one prays] found some sense of healing or peace in their lives again. For these reasons, this one might be of particular interest to survivors and/or to the professionals working in the therapeutic fields.
If you have comments for the reviewer or want to inquire about having your book reviewed, email: info@kotapress.com
