Archive for December, 2009
Friday, December 11th, 2009
“To Stop a Dinner Guest” by Josiah Bancroft
Josiah Bancroft TO STOP A DINNER GUEST My friend, a yawn is a kabuki gasp, a conspicuous parody of breath, meant to entertain, yes, and refresh the body’s interest in carrying on. A yawn is savored, is hooked in the chest, then extracted; it is inedible, immense and stubborn. You cannot tell us again of [...]
2 Comments » - Posted in Poems by Megan
Thursday, December 10th, 2009
LUCIFER AT THE STARLITE by Kim Addonizio
Review by Jeannine Hall Gailey LUCIFER AT THE STARLITE by Kim Addonizio W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. 500 Fifth Avenue New York, New York 10110 ISBN 0393068528 2009, 96 pp., $23.95 www.wwnorton.com I’ve been a fan of Kim Addonizio’s poetry for many years now, so I was happy to have the opportunity to review [...]
No Comments » - Posted in E-Reviews by Megan
Wednesday, December 9th, 2009
“Home Visit: Jenny” by Jennifer Perrine
Jennifer Perrine HOME VISIT: JENNY When I arrived, she had been alone with the body for three weeks: her mother a puddle on the bathroom floor, water still running in the sink. Jenny found bologna and old yogurt in the kitchen trash, socked it away in the fridge to eat a slice and a spoonful [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Audio,Poems by Timothy Green
Tuesday, December 8th, 2009
“Speculative” by Willie James King
Willie James King SPECULATIVE So, this is the New South where whites attend Parks’ funeral in multitudes, yet send their own children to separate schools. She died in poverty, which means, she was poor in cents but rich in spirit. So don’t tell me about change, or how hard they are trying while racism wreaks [...]
1 Comment » - Posted in Audio,Poems,Tributes by Timothy Green
Monday, December 7th, 2009
“Cartographer” by DéLana R.A. Dameron
DéLana R.A. Dameron CARTOGRAPHER You believe my body a map. It is an island to which you flock only to lose yourself, to find solace or right angles to answer the simple question: how do you get from where you are, to here—the heart. You walk the streets blind and don’t know on which side [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Poems,Tributes by Megan
Sunday, December 6th, 2009
“Tonsillitis” by Arlene Ang
Arlene Ang TONSILLITIS Like a man’s remains in the belly of a whale, the throat cultures its own pain. A cruelty—a secret love—that drinks crushed glass from a glass. In dreams, the body runs, twisting its ankles in different places until the feet break off and swell into barrel cacti from the sand. A heartbeat [...]
1 Comment » - Posted in Audio,Poems by Timothy Green
Saturday, December 5th, 2009
ARRANGING THE BLAZE by Chad Sweeney
Review by James Benton ARRANGING THE BLAZE by Chad Sweeney Anhinga Press P.O. Box 10595 Tallahassee, FL 32302 ISBN 978-1-934695-09-8 2009, 106 pp., $15.00 www.anhinga.org Genealogy arises from the urge to uncover one’s origins. In Chad Sweeney’s hands, the search for origins permeates a stirring collection of angular poems that are simultaneously personal and deceptively [...]
No Comments » - Posted in E-Reviews by Megan
Friday, December 4th, 2009
“Hopefully Soon” by Alvin Aubert
Alvin Aubert HOPEFULLY SOON c. 1940 Would like to have gotten on board only to realize he’d be told he couldn’t, his money no good but there was a slot down below for a stoker working next to another “boy” down there in the boiler room by the name of (he could have sworn they [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Poems,Tributes by Megan
Thursday, December 3rd, 2009
“Why Do They Call Bill Clinton the First Black President” by Idris Goodwin
Idris Goodwin WHY DO THEY CALL BILL CLINTON THE FIRST BLACK PRESIDENT? Perhaps its Baptist Donkey rides Mom trailer trips to McDonalds Arkansas tire swings Ya’ll come back now and smothered biscuits cant keep it in his pants wink and a finger gun Mr. Blue Suit Dangling cigar ethos chomped dead by wise crackers The [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Audio,Poems,Tributes by Timothy Green
Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009
“Descent and Transcendence…” by Meta DuEwa Jones
Meta DuEwa Jones DESCENT AND TRANSCENDENCE IN AFRICAN AMERICAN POETRY: IDENTITY, EXPERIENCE, FORM “To submit, just follow our regular guidelines, and include a note that you are of African American descent.” This was the compelling compulsion Rattle issued to writers submitting to this tribute to African American poets. Such a request seems simple and self-explanatory. [...]
