On Dustin Pearson’s A Season in Hell with Rimbaud
A Season in Hell with Rimbaud by Dustin Pearson. Rochester, NY. BOA Editions, Ltd. 2022. 96 pages. $17.00. Paperback. Dustin Pearson’s collection A Season in Hell with Rimbaud finds itself in conversation with Rimbaud and influenced by Dante as the speaker goes on a Dantean journey through Hell in search of his brother. Despite the influence of tradition...
Poetry Review: The Pact by Jennifer Militello
The Pact by Jennifer Militello. North Adams, Massachusetts: Tupelo Press, 021. 80 pages. $19.95, print. The Pact by Jennifer Militello is a fantastic collection of poems tackling provocative themes: complex relationships, places of vulnerability, love, and danger. The cliché of never judging a book by its cover does not apply here—a Venus flytrap on a black backdrop furthers this essence of hunger or longing in this collection but...
Poetry Review: Chopping Wood in the Moonlight by Ken Letko
Chopping Wood in the Moonlight by Ken Letko. Flowstone Press. 2021. 33 Pages. Paperback. Chopping Wood in the Moonlight is Ken Letko’s tribute to nature and simple living. In these tightly crafted poems, the author utilizes his years of traveling and collected wisdom to celebrate a life lived authentically. In the title poem, Letko invokes the ancient Chinese...
Poetry Review: The Track the Whales Make by Marjorie Saiser
The Track the Whales Make: New and Selected Poems by Marjorie Saiser. Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press, 2021. 181 pages. $19.95, print. The Track the Whales Make begins with a section of new work and then features poems from Saiser’s seven previous books, starting with the most recent and then moving backwards in time. Like Saiser’s poems themselves, the book’s construction creates a sense of what is fleeting. As the...
Poetry Review: Unholy Heart by Grace Bauer
Unholy Heart: New and Selected Poems by Grace Bauer. The Backwaters Press: An Imprint of the University of Nebraska Press. 2021. 169 pages. $19.95. Paperback. New and selected poetry collections can sometimes be cumbersome when approaching any poet to experience their work. I always find that’s because we must figure out where to begin. With Unholy Heart: New and Selected Poems by Grace Bauer, it’s...
Poetry Review: Traveling With the Ghosts
Traveling With the Ghosts by Stella Vinitchi Radulescu. Asheville, North Carolina: Orison Books, 2021. 107 pages. $16.00, paperback. invocation by Stella Vinitchi Radulescu those eyes you love the violet eyes of Spring the girl descending the hill or Spring itself in violent wind— let me clean the air with a vowel...
Winter Wheat 2016: Odds & Ends Panels Part II
Winter Wheat is only two days away! Here’s the last of our panels: “Hermit Crabs, Lyric Essays, and More: Alternatives in Nonfiction,” with Nicole L. Reber This workshop will explore hermit crab essays, braided essays, listicles, and other fun forms that can have the added benefit of helping you be more productive and turn...
Winter Wheat 2016: Odds & Ends Panels
Take a look at these miscellaneous panels we have this year! “Writing Different Cultures: To What Extent Can We Become Insiders?” with Lisa Favicchia As writers, it seems only natural that we are influenced by our travels. However, what do we risk by writing other cultures? Can we ever really become insiders, and if...
Winter Wheat 2016: Lit Techniques and Ideas Panels
Check out these great workshops at Winter Wheat! “Writing Respectfully and Accurately about Characters with Disabilities,” with Sheri Wells-Jensen, Tex Thompson, Jason Wells-Jensen and Abberley Sorg. Being inclusive means more than choosing to designate one of your characters as disabled. It means (1) asking yourself why you want to include that character, (2) doing the...
Winter Wheat 2016: Publishing Panel Features
Winter Wheat is only two weeks away! Interested in the field of publication? Check out these panels on publishing at this year’s writing festival! “Market Yourself as a Writer,” with Nicole L. Reber Marketing starts long before your book is published. It should start before your book is even written. Springboarding from the...
Winter Wheat 2016: Poetry Panel Features Part III
We wrap up our Winter Wheat poetry panel features with these last 5 amazing workshops. Be sure to check them out! “That’s Absurd! How to Write Absurdist Poetry,” with Jen Pelto Whether you’re still Waiting for Godot or undergoing a Metamorphosis, this workshop will discuss the thematic and philosophical elements of absurdism, provide post-postmodern examples from working writers,...
Winter Wheat 2016: Poetry Panel Features Part II
Our poetry panel features continues with these 5 great workshops that you can attend at Winter Wheat! “From Lyric to Lebowski: Writing the Pop Culture Poem,” with Donora Hillard What does it mean to write a “good” pop culture poem? How can poets use pop culture to access elements of love, anxiety, misery, hope?...