Summer Book Reviews...

Above are the books I'll be writing about this summer...


The first 5 on the list:

Intimacy, Catherine Imbriglio (Winner of the Colorado Prize for Poetry)
First line: "I have no one to talk to about my behavior."

These long-lined poems, all with "intimacy" in the title, are written in a conversational style, but also full of complexity. Each line is like a small poem within the poem.

~

To That Mythic Country Called Closure, by M.
First line: "Yes, we the young widows/take Ambien to sleep, Ativan for anxiety..."

Powerful poems about being a young widow. This was the manuscript I chose for the Concrete Wolf poetry chapbook series. It explores grief, loss, and the journey through it.

~

A Dress Walked By With a Girl, by Michael Hickey
First line: "Know this:"

Not a review copy, but a book given to me by Mike himself.  The poems are packed full of images, humor, wit, and surprise.

~

Lost Animals by David Cazden
First line: "I watch vultures trace ellipses"

These are poems deliberate in their story and interlaced with images and each poem is a nod to the time we're here on this robust earth and the animals who live there.

~

St. Peter's B-List: Contemporary Poems Inspired By the Saints, by Mary Ann B. Miller
First line: "I believe in the dish in the sink" Martha Silano

Spoiler alert: I have 2 poems in this collection, as does Martha Silano, Franz Wright, C. Dale Young, Jim Daniels, Dana Gioia, and Annette Spaulding-Convy.

The book is organized by topic, (Faith & Worship, Sickness & Death, etc.).  The poem range from humorous to poignant and a mix of both and everything in between.  Lovely for anyone interested in the saints, Catholicism, ex-Catholics, those who grew up in a Catholic household, or are just interested in religion or spirituality.




~ Kells
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