first published in misfitmagazine.net
James Duncan, Cistern Latitudes, Roadside Press, Distributed by Magical Jeep, also available on Amazon, 2024, 84 pages, $15
Duncan’s narratives often put me in mind of late 50s, early 60s cafés featuring traditional folk singers. These were usually solo acts playing acoustic guitar with artists singing traditional ballads and the occasional original song. Not that Duncan is a balladeer, per se, but his subjects often feature a rambling man, crossing the country, usually alone missing someone, or searching for someone new as most of those songs did. He is often lonely, close to despair but not a defeatist; there is always another day, another ramble, new places to go and see and hopefully, a new love to find.
