The Poetry Shelf
Primera Pagina
Latino Writers Collective
Scapegoat Press
PO Box 410962, Kansas City, MO 64141
9780979129117, $16.95
Fourteen voices with fourteen pens joined together as a single united
face of Latino writers in "Primera Pagina: Poetry from the Latino
Heartland". The fourteen writers range from first time poets to
tenured authors who have written in many venues. The topics are just
as varied, ranging from political opinion to love. "Primera Pagina:
Poetry from the Latino Heartland" is highly recommended for community
library poetry collections with a focus on the Latino community. "La
Reina of Chocolate Covered Cherries": Times many/ I made you cry/
because/ I wouldn't learn/ to make/ tortillas// womanhood/ measured/
by number of times/ you/ burn/ your fingertips/ on the comal.
Poems from God's Dancer
Tamara Robinson
The Vineyard Book Publishers
PO Box 478, Upper Marlboro, MD 20773
9780977380565, $12.00, www (dot) thevineyard-books (dot) com
Religion has been one of the great inspirations throughout history,
and "Poems from God's Dancer: From Suffering to Victory" is no
different. Author Tamara Robinson tells of her relation****p with God,
the feelings she receives from Him, her family, and her love for all
of those around her. Vivid and inspirational poetry, "Poems from God's
Dancer: From Suffering to Victory" is highly recommended for community
library poetry collections and patrons of them.
Living Things
Matt Rader
Nightwood Editions
9780889712232, $16.95, www (dot) nightwoodeditions (dot) com
A child can radically change one's life, and that is the case for
accomplished and award winning poet Matt Rader. "Living Things" is his
reflections on the world after the birth of his first daughter.
Bringing a certain gentle kindness to a hostile world, the lyrical
verse of "Living Things" is entertaining all the way through. Highly
recommended for community library poetry collections and poetry lovers
in general. "The Worm Compost": Tonight, in the black box of our
storage closet/a lack box of plastic records our eating habits/ in a
soggy thresh of newsprint, an exquisite text/ of worms and leaves and
PH balance you upset/once every couple months to parse our future/
through clues in the much: cairns of sheep ****/or entrails in a
soothsayer's dish, you predict a parliament of annelids to get us back
to nature.
Demockracy
Mike Maggio
Privately Published
1549 Coomber Court, Herdon, VA 20170
9781891386770, $14.95, www (dot) mikemaggio (dot) com
Poetry is not all about beautiful landscapes and romance =96 it can be a
tool of political expression as well. "Demockracy" is an anthology of
politically motivated poetry from experienced and prolific poet Mike
Maggio. His poetry carries out his views on the world and his ideas
for a brighter future with brilliant wording. "Demockracy" is highly
recommended for community library poetry collections and for poetry
lovers seeking poetry with a stronger message. "Shoptalk": The time
has come to talk./ There's a riot from 9 to 5/ the buildings are
looting the street.// Can't you think of something else?/ the birds
are dying to sing./ Take the subway/ see for yourself/ the music is
deafening/ the sky is a distant place.
A Matinee in Plato's Cave
Rob Griffith
Water Press and Media
2004 Whitebridge Road, Argyle, TX 76226
0974452467, $12.95
Professor of English and prolific poet Rob Griffith makes his debut
with his own anthology of poetry in "A Matinee in Plato's Cave", a set
of poems focusing on the human experience instead of the nature and
environmental element so many poetry collections take on. With poems
focusing on all aspects of humanity, "A Matinee in Plato's Cave" is a
moving collection indeed, recommended for community library poetry
collections. Leaving by Train: The platform, long and black against
the green/Surrounding hills, ****nes with pools of rain/That cast back
the clearing sky in cold, Uncertain blues. Alone, he stands and
waits,//The quiet morning gone, the 10:15/A dream of steel and light
not yet arrived. Though barely spring, delphinium and rue/Burst along
the verge, their crowbar roots//Crowding every fissure, every crease
and fold, He wonders why his heart, a paper hive/Long empty,/remains
immune to change/While the whole prismatic world dissolves. The shoots/
Of Tulips tremble in the breeze, still freighted/with rain. He shuts
his eyes against the view.
All These Roads
Louis Dudek
Wilfrid Laurier University Press
75 University Avenue West, Waterloo, ON, N2L 3C5
9781554580392, $14.95, www (dot) wlupress (dot) wlu (dot) ca
The cream of an already excellent crop - "All These Roads: The Poetry
of Louis Dudek" picks thirty five poems from the poet's long and
illustrious sixty-year career as a major literary force in Canada. The
high regard in which he is held is readily understood as readers view
and enjoy his work, making "All These Roads: The Poetry of Louis
Dudek" highly recommended for community library poetry collections.
The Extremities
Timothy Kelly
Oberlin College Press
50 North Professor Street, Oberlin, OH 44074-1091
9780932440334, $15.95, www (dot) oberlin (dot) edu/ocpress
Author of two previous collections of poetry and award winning poet
Timothy Kelly returns with his third anthology of verse in "The
Extremities". Contemplating the unique subject of the human body and
turning the science behind it into enlightening, educational, and
entertaining lyrical poetry, "The Extremities" is a read poetry lovers
are sure to enjoy. Highly recommended for community library poetry
collections. "Taking It In to Have it Looked At": In her voice there's
Irish tracings,/ in her ear a bridgework of bones. In the bones/ small
sets of ****vers upon which/ everything you think you hear turns.// In
the eye there's carpet receptive/ to light waved in from the star; and
the tamped/ seeds, signaled, splay triggered,/ the seeds where the
libraries are.// In sleep dart severs the senses,/ then incommunicado
we drift our beds; and are/ mapped by lovers we never knew/ were
stowed away strange in our heads.
Unmentionables
Beth Ann Fennelly
WW Norton
500 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10110
9780393066050, $23.95, www (dot) wwnorton (dot) com
The word "unmentionable" does not, strictly speaking, mean something
that is inappropriate; it can also mean something that words can't
describe well. "Unmentionables" is a poetry collection by experienced
and prolific author Beth Ann Fennelly, who tries to speak of what
can't be spoken with inspired and detailed lyrical verse. The result
is an enlightening and entertaining reading experience. Community
library poetry collections would do well in acquiring
"Unmentionables". "Colorplate 68": Eugene worsens./ At fifty I am
old./ I paint en plein air no more.// April: he gives me a bunch of
violets./ I crush them/ onto my pallette,/ suture my canvas/ with
violets.
Azores
David Yezzi
A Shallow Press Book
c/o Ohio University Press
19 Circle Drive, The Ridges, Athens, Ohio 45701
9780804011136, $24.95, www (dot) ohioswallow (dot) com
Experienced poet David Yezzi returns with his third anthology of
poetry in "Azores". Well-written throughout, touching on the humor and
somberness found in everyday life with an intellectual tint, "Azores"
is an ideal pick for poetry fans and community library collections.
"Tritina for Susannah": The water off these rocks is green and cold./
The sandless coast takes the tide in its mouth,/ as a wolf brings down
a deer or lifts its child.// I walked this bay before you were my
child./ Your fingers stinging brightly in the cold,/ I take each one
and warm it in my mouth.//Though I've known this shore for years, my
mouth/ holds no charms of use to you, my child./ You will have to
learn the words to ward off cold// and know them cold, child, in your
open mouth.
Elegy for the Floater
Teresa Carson
CavanKerry Press
6 Horizon Road, No. 2901, Fort Lee, New Jersey 07024
9781933880075, $16.00, www (dot) cavankerrypress (dot) org
"Elegy for the Floater" explores the human elements of love, death,
and life, with a primary focus on healing from psychological damage
inflicted by the sudden suicide of a loved one. Deftly crafted with
beautiful imagery throughout, "Elegy for the Floater" is highly
recommended to any who have lost a loved one to this terrible
occurrence. "Webs": my mother drew spider webs/on any paper with her
reacher// my mother on the telephone/drew webs across names in our
address book//my mother in her rocker/drew webs on bills and Christmas
cards//my mother in my bedroom drew/webs deep in diaries//everywhere
in that house I found/ink pencil crayon.
My Piece of the Puzzle
Doren Robbins
Eastern Wa****ngton University Press
534 E. Spokane Falls, Blvd. Suite 203, Spokane, WA 99202
9781597660389, $14.95, www (dot) ewu (dot) edu/ewupress
Highly experienced and prolific poet Doren Robbins presents his sixth
full length volume of poetry in "My Piece of the Puzzle". Filled with
simple yet delicate observations of the world around us, and touching
on the various eccentricities of human nature be they mean, idiotic,
or magnificent, Robbins' poetry is sure to move readers in one way or
another. "My Piece of the Puzzle" is a top pick for poetry lovers and
community library collections catering to them. "The Rains": At a
hotel off the Deschutes River, recorded in Bend, Oregon, the same/
night going down for ice when I found a large moth inside from the
rain.//Even dead it looked vibrant, resting on the inside corner/of a
louvered windowsill.//Heavy layered fur neck, buffalo thick head. I
saw all the way into the pearl/ of running surf inside the moth's
unshuttered eye, and the bloom in there/became clear a little piece of
peel at a time.//Saw the loomed pieces stacked layers new petals
lapped over a face within/the increased undergrowth, steadily
withheld, unknown till then.
Two Off Q
June Nirschl, Nancy Rafal, & Judy Roy
Marsh River Edtions
M233 Marsh Road, Marshfield, WI 54449
9780977276844, $10.95, www (dot) marshrivereditions (dot) com
"Two Off Q: A Conversation In Poetry" is one of the most distinctive
and novel approaches to the publi****ng of poetry. Two outstanding
masters of verse, June Nirschl and Judy Roy, have a kind of off-beat
collaboration in that "Two Off Q" showcases their poetry in sequence,
evoking the feeling of listening to two distinctive voices
communicating in the ephemeral language of poetry with another and
with the reader. Organized into four major sections (Whimsy; Whispers
from the Past; Among those We've Loved; Presence), we are presented
with the first poem ('The Most Im****tant Light in the County')
followed by a poem by Judy Roy ('A Cook's Lament'), and this pattern
with but is form of presentation principally followed throughout with
but a few exceptions. The result is impressive individually, and
fascinating in the collective whole. "Two Off Q" is especially
recommended and rewarding reading for any and all who appreciated well
crafted poetry superbly presented. 'Phoning Home': It's what we've
done forever--call each other./We talked about our parents, always
laughed/and shared small secrets, each convinced the other/could take
away the sadness, make us laugh./And so we did. We giggled at the boys/
until we double-dated, then came home/and telephoned. We shared,
compared the boys,/our husbands now. Worlds apart, yet home,/we are
each other's history. Through the phone/we spoke of children growing
up, of loss/and hope, the awful fear of when a phone/might ring for
boys grown old, the one great loss./And still we call, we speak, and
sometimes weep/the quiet tears that aged women weep. (Judy Roy)
'Lullaby for My Little Sister': You were the child with colic who
cried/for more than a year while Mama tried/to shush and soothe to no
avail/the pain in your gut. Not this tale/or another speaks to what
frayed//the mother-daughter tie, once ignited,/fanned hungry flames
that putrefied/all hope. But we viewed through a veil --/you were a
child.//Rest now, mischievous imp, bright-eyed/girl. Your laughter
long nullified/sours like wisps on the wind, sails/sails like spirit,
still hush-a-byed./Forever, child.
The Morning Will Come
Seamus Cashman
Salmon Poetry
c/o Dufour Editions
PO Box 7, Chester Springs, PA 19425
9781903392638, $21.95, www (dot) salmonpoetry (dot) com
Experienced and prolific author and poet Seamus Cashman returns with
his third anthology, "That Morning Will Come", a focus on spirituality
and musings on life drawn from Cashman's visit to the holy land and
Palestine =96 with a side look at human rights. Cashman also touches on
parenthood and other commonly faced problems of life. A deftly written
and highly recommended piece of poetry, perfect for community library
poetry collections. "Poised on the Edge": I would have been a pharaoh/
to your Nile, a sunbeam to your cist/a button on your belly tying up
ends/in my beginnings, fits, and enterprises.//I could go for days on
your breathings/But to end all that I stand here/poised on the edge of
waking/ready for a drought.
Controlled Decay
Gabriela Jauregui
Black Goat
c/o Aka****c Books
PO Box 1456, New York, NY 10009
9781933354521, $15.95 www (dot) aka****cbooks (dot) com
Mexican-born poet Gabriela Jauregui presents Controlled Decay, her
debut poetry collection. The works range in setting from Jauregui's
native Mexico City to a dance hall in East Los Angeles to a steam bath
in Morocco to the quietude of the grave. Blending elements of
narrative, thought processes, and open rhythm, Controlled Decay taps
into the immense power of human consciousness and the eternal story
that is the endless circle of life. "For Nietzsche": Between truth and
fiction / a soap washes/clears ambiguity / dispels/destroys
ambivalence / a vegetable soap / that leaves no trace / clean / like a
button / ripped from an overcoat / on a winter morning.
Colosseum
Katie Ford
Graywolf Press
2402 University Avenue, Suite 203, Saint Paul, MN 55114
9781555975012, $15.00 www (dot) graywolfpress (dot) org 1-651-641-0077
Colosseum is a brief collection of free-verse poems by award-winning
poet Katie Ford. Drawing upon the lessons of history embedded within
historical ruins, contrasted with modern-day ruins such as the
devastation of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina (an experience the
author encountered firsthand), Colosseum speaks of catastrophes
throughout time, emphasizing that natural disasters deliver their
wrath with equal fury to all people. A singularly compelling and
thought-provoking poetry experience. "Earth": Wild horses folded into
their last night. / One burrowed against the dead's descending heat /
as three cantered from the threadbare wood. // You must leaving
everything lit / by city light and Damascus light, anything fueled /
except by your eyes on these animal bodies. // Species by species,
light by light. // As for the tarpan it shall be for you. / A
reckoning so slow you aren't even frightened.
Unspoiled Air
Kaisa Ullsvik Miller
Fence Books
New Library 320, University at Albany,
1400 Wa****ngton Avenue, Albany, NY 12222
9781934200124, $15.00 www (dot) fence****tal (dot) org
The debut collection by 2008 Motherwell Prize winner Kaisa Ullsvik
Miller, Unspoiled Air is an anthology of brief, free-verse poems
winding in undulating, soothing patterns that dare to offer a glimmer
of hope against the stark indifference of the universe. Encapsulating
instants in time and emotion, Unspoiled Air affects the senses like a
deep breath of its titular subject. "A Flower's Work": a flower's
intention is / of a flower work // you are the center // of the
flower, // The vivid, delicate petals / delight / and health
In the Silence of the Migrated Birds
Austin Smith
Parallel Press
372 Memorial Library, 728 State Street, Madison, WI 53575
9781893311985, $10.00 parallelpress (dot) library (dot) wisc (dot) edu
1-800-636-0071
In the Silence of the Migrated Birds is a flat-spined chapbook of free-
verse poetry expressing the transitory moment of experience - whether
witnessing one's mother baking bread or observing the constellation
Pleiades for the first time. Avian imagery abounds, as migratory birds
are symbolic of the eternal, cyclic change that is the hallmark of
life itself. In the Silence of the Migrated Birds deserves to be
savored, whether in the comfort of one's own home or during a break in
a nature hike. "Christmas": Winter sets like a broken / bone, painful
and white. // Winter has a way / of making war seem more futile. //
And when sleet riddles the angels / the children swam into the
snow, // who can resist the urge / to visit the Veterans' Museum // to
touch the cold bronze / faces of their grandfathers?
The Hands of Day
Pablo Neruda, author
William O'Daly, translator
Copper Canyon Press
PO Box 271, ****t Townsend, Wa****ngton 98368
9781556592720, $17.00 www (dot) coppercanyonpress (dot) org
The Hands of Day is the seventh bilingual translation of the poetry of
Chile-born diplomat and political activist Pablo Neruda (1904-1973).
Sixty-seven lyric poems are presented in both their original Spanish
and in English. At times the verse dips away from the mundanities of
daily life and into the wonders existing just beyond the senses. A
poignant collection, tinged with the depth of human emotion and a
"must-have" for anyone with an interest in Neruda's classic works.
"The Hands of the Days": by the accident of the rose / the hour is
born, irascible / or yellow. / Thin layer of volcano, petal of
hatred, / carnivorous throat, / such is a day, and the next one / is
tenderly, / yes resolutely, a wedding song.
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