KITCHEN HYMNS, Pádraig Ó Tuama, Copper Canyon Press, 2024. I am going to cheat and just give you a few notes, then send you to other, smarter reviewers. You might begin with the first paragraph from Mary Grace Mangano’s review at Jesuit Media Lab, which elegantly makes Ó Tuama kin with Flannery O’Connor. Both raised […]
NECESSITY OF FLIGHT, Jane Alynn, Cherry Grove Collections, 2011. As planned, I am spending my April reading poetry, though some mornings a blogpost feels out of reach. This book, not new, but a fairly recent addition to my book hoard, is one I definitely want to share. Necessity of Flight is a showcase for its […]
A LITTLE BOOK OF SELF-CARE FOR THOSE WHO GRIEVE, Paula Becker, Girl Friday Productions, 2021. I want to share this book with you. It’s not poetry, but it’s a lot like poetry, and recommends it: “Poetry can crack grief open and smooth it down, howl its depths…” The book combines beautiful illustrations by Rebekah Nichols. […]
WRITE ABOUT AN EMPTY BIRD CAGE, Elaina M. Ellis, Write Bloody Publishing, 2011. I bought this odd collection of poems by Elaina M. Ellis a few years ago, at the Chuckanut Writers Conference. Every so often I pick it up and am inspired by its bravery, its sexual bravado, and its writing prompts. The poems […]