Virgin by Analicia Sotelo
I have this as a rating of 3, but Virgin by Analicia Sotelo is more of a 3.5 rating. And not because this is a bad read, it is actually good. I enjoyed the straightforward text and imagery. However, sometimes she gets a bit “poetic” and too fanciful for my tastes. And while I like poetry, and “flowery” poetry has its place, I was not looking for it here. The mix of both straightforward and the flowery was not a hundred percent for me. Sotelo […]
Birthright by George Abraham
I have maybe 20-25 pages to go in Birthright and cannot finish George Abraham’s poetry collection. This has only happened once before, but that was because I was having a little trouble with the concepts of that other book. That poet had tossed out a lot of current events (just when they were starting to become hot/coming back into our consciousness) and there was a lot to absorb. This time it is for both similar and different reasons. This contradiction is throughout the book for […]
They Fought Like Demons by DeAnne Blanton & Lauren M. Cook
I was never personally interested in the American Civil War until I joined a reenactment unit and started going out to events. Even then, I was fine with just talking about the home front and staying far, far away from the intricacies of the military and battle histories that so many of my male compatriots spent their time on. However, the more I learned in the hobby, the more I realized my disinterest in most things about the Civil War was because the focus was […]
Alien vs. Predator by Michael Robbins
If I ever meet Michael Robbins I hope I can say to them, “Dude. You are F’ed up.” And I hope he smiles and says, “Thanks.” Everything is nonsense in Alien vs. Predator. Yet it seems to make sense when it clearly does not make sense. (Or does it?) His words are strung together in a pattern of letters and words and grammar and punctuation and lines on a page that are alive and moving and telling a story and flowing and just assaulting the […]
I will admit I have only read a little more than half of Kyle “Guante” Tran Myhre’s A Love Song, a Death Rattle, a Battle Cry. However, I like to think I have read enough and seen enough of his work on Facebook videos, YouTube, etc. to write this review. Kyle Tran Myhre is not an easy read. I have only found a few poems, songs or essays that I can relate to. There are several beautiful lines that he has created, but those taken […]
Sarah Kay, along with illustrator Sophia Janowitz, created her debut collection of poetry back in 2014. And in 2018 No Matter the Wreckage came on my radar. Kay’s poems celebrate family, love, travel, as well as the oddness, beauty and darkness of the world. She is powerful and soft. Bold and quiet. She hits you over the head and whispers in your ear. To hear her read her works (so far only on YouTube) would be a grand treat. Her voice is the perfect vessel […]
