Sep 11
In Nathan Graziano’s latest book, Born on Good Friday from Roadside Press, the poet tells the story of a good Catholic boy’s coming of age that develops into a 40 year story that most of us can relate to. He checks all the boxes growing up and eventually leaves the confessional behind. Graziano’s book reads …
Aug 13
Kerry Trautman has a gift for shimmying away the veneer of seemingly simple moments to expose the depth and beauty of what lies beneath, the complexities and hidden passions. Unknowable Things celebrates the common and the spectacular on equal terms. “And so the poem starts as many others— at the kitchen sink, as peaches drip …
Aug 02
Misti Rainwater-Lites is one of the best writers alive, and in Clown Gravy, she out greats many of the great indie underground writers that so many of us hold in reverence, like Bukowski. Like Buk, Misti writes about the sweat, bruises and loneliness that living a misunderstood misfit life brings, but unlike Buk, she does …
Jul 27
Somewhere in the light filled mist of San Francisco teetering at the edge of the world wandering through the ghostly landscape of the pandemic drinking in parks and peeking out cheap chipped windows are the fiery eyes of William Taylor Jr. This candid glimpse into a poet’s life is where, “the universe is dumb and …
Jul 26
The streets listen to you — listen to them as you read this book. Knowing Westley Heine’s poetry and prose from previous works, and confident in his talent as a writer to educate, entertain, evoke and empathize (and sometimes all in the same work) Street Corner Spirits: poems & flash fiction, from Roadside Press, was …
Apr 24
St. James Infirmiry – a Review by William Taylor Jr. St. James Infirmary, a new collection of stories by Steven Meloan, is an engaging and pleasantly unpredictable read. The opening piece, “Googies,” does a solid job of setting up themes that are revisited throughout the book. What begins as a nostalgic first-person narrative of a …
Apr 16
St. James Infirmary by Steven Meloan (Review) This collection of essays might have been called Postcards From the Edge, had that title not already been taken. As a child of the 60s, a young adult in San Francisco in the 80’s, and a transplant to California, and ultimately LA, I can say with certitude that …
Feb 20
Independent, but not alone Michele McDannold, Roadside Press, Gutter Snob Books, and her latest book of poetry By Plane, Train, or Coincidence. I have come to realize that no one is going to save us. We have to save ourselves. I was never charmed by religion or politics, but Hollywood has chewed me up and spit me out twice. Also, I’ve …
Jan 30
Unknowable Things is an evocative language feast where sensory imagery is omnipresent. We see this throughout Kerry Trautman’s masterful collection, from the accessible first lines of her opening poem, “Drop,” He closed the screen door, stepped/into rain that smelled like worms to the engaging first lines of …
Nov 14
Review of Michele McDannold’s By Plane, Train, or Coincidence. “Can you tell me where the yellow brick road goes when unaccompanied by red sequined shoes?” –from “cityscapes while sitting on a cold, cold stone” Reading Michele McDannold’s latest poetry collection, By Plane, Train or Coincidence (on the title page, on my personal, signed, copy McDannold …
