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 …
Tag: review
Aug 02
Review by Dan Denton: Clown Gravy by Misti Rainwater-Lites
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
Review by Westley Heine: A Room Above a Convenience Store by William Taylor Jr.
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
Review by David Alec Knight: Street Corner Spirits by Westley Heine
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
Review by William Taylor Jr.: St. James Infirmary by Steven Meloan
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
Review by Laura Novak: St. James Infirmary by Steven Meloan
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 …
Jan 30
Review by Sandra Feen: Unknowable Things by Kerry Trautman
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 by a.m. stein: By Plane, Train or Coincidence by Michele McDannold
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 …
Aug 20
REVIEW by a.m. stein: Busking Blues by Westley Heine
Busking Blues: Recollections of a Chicago Street Musician and Squatter by Westly Heine, reviewed by Alex Stein “When writing what would be considered gritty realism it is important to remember that even gritty realism is as subjective as anything else. It’s a sliding scale. Humans have such different perceptions of reality. This accounts for …
