Benjamin Schmitt 2/15/22 Benjamin Schmitt 2/15/22

Coining a Wishing Tower

I have a bookmark with a quote on it from famed American author Octavia Butler that reads, “good stories are good stories, no matter how they’re categorized.” This is a necessary reminder that whether we are reading a poem, watching a TV show, or listening to an audiobook, we are looking for the same thing; a work that may help us forget the pain of our circumstances for a time, but also something that reminds and teaches us what it means to be human.

Lily Alvarado 12/17/21 Lily Alvarado 12/17/21

Loosen

Illness can drastically alter one’s perception of life, death, and what defines us. It catalyzes you into a philosophical and psychological transformation. This is intimately and gracefully explored in Loosen, a collection of poetry by breast cancer survivor Kyle Potvin.

Lily Alvarado 11/28/21 Lily Alvarado 11/28/21

Here Lies A Father

Ian Daly, a 15-year-old boy, attends his father’s funeral on a Friday in a small, isolated town in New York. While it may be inappropriate to call the ordeal ordinary, given the context of a dead family member, it’s still an occurrence many folks find themselves in. It’s not that common, however, to find out that the father you knew all your life was nothing like the man you perceived him to be.

Benjamin Schmitt 10/31/21 Benjamin Schmitt 10/31/21

Darkness on the Face of the Deep

and greater significance. A jog in my neighborhood becomes a vital source of fresh air outside my home. A trip to the movies becomes a rare opportunity for shared experience and not just another night spent alone watching a screen. A beer at the bar with a friend seems like time spent on holy ground. The deeper meanings and the importance of life’s moments are not lost on Patrick T. Reardon in his new collection, Darkness on the Face of the Deep.

D. Ferrara 10/31/21 D. Ferrara 10/31/21

The Light We Cannot See

Irish-born poet Anne Casey presents us with a study in contrasts in her latest book, The Light We Cannot See (Salmon Poetry 2019). In the pandemic that has locked down Australia for most of the past two years, Casey reflects on the distortions of life as it is. In erudite lyrics, she comments on the present moment, then moves to timeless topics – sometimes in the same poem.

Lily Alvarado 10/15/21 Lily Alvarado 10/15/21

The Day The Sky Broke Open

The Day the Sky Broke Open, by Keith T. Hoerner, is a compelling memoir about a survivor. It focuses on Hoerner as the “target child” of his mother’s emotional and physical abuse. He tells his story through fragmented snippets of nearly 60 years of his life.

Lily Alvarado 10/8/21 Lily Alvarado 10/8/21

Messiahs

Marc Anthony Richardson’s Messiahs focuses on two lovers whose names we never learn, a Black man who was formerly on death row and incarcerated and an East Asian woman who is the mother of a dead child and has been disowned by her family.