Reviews
The Matter of the Casket
Poems by Thom Ward
The Matter of the Casket
Poems by Thom Ward
Custom Words, 2007; 84 pages; $17
ISBN 978-1933456690, Paper
by Donald Zirilli
The Matter of the Casket is subtitled "Poems by Thom Ward," so we know what he thinks they are. One might also call them prose poems or maybe even flash fiction. In other words, they are poems deprived of line breaks. Read Review
Several Hearts: Margo Berdeshevsky's But a Passage in Wilderness
But a Passage in Wilderness
by Margo Berdeshevsky
The Sheep Meadow Press, 2007; 109 pages; $12.95
ISBN: 1-931357-50-1, Paper
by Larissa Shmailo
Margo Berdeshevsky achieves an unusual trinity in her first book of poems, But a Passage in Wilderness. The collection is wonderfully experimental, exceptionally lyrical, and marvelously passionate. Unlike most modern poets, Berdeshevsky's inventive language does not shirk the responsibility of addressing love and death and our lives together in society. Read Review
The Archeology of Desire: JoAnne McFarland's Fossil Fuel
JoAnne McFarland's Fossil Fuel
Gold Leaf Books, 2007; 66 pages; $12
ISBN 978-0-9774245-1-1, Paper
http://www.joannemcfarland.com/books.html
by Brant Lyon
The stark monochrome image of a single bone, an inverted femur, appears on the cover of Ms. McFarland's latest collection of poems, Fossil Fuel. Anatomists tell us (but the author does not) that the femur is the body's most variable in size; in fact, more than shinbones and spine (normally always in the same proportion to the rest of the frame), the length of this bone is what actually determines a person's stature. Read Review
Our Classical Heritage: A Homing Device
by Caroline Noble Whitbeck
Our Classical Heritage: A Homing Device by Caroline Noble Whitbeck
Switchback Books 2007; 73 pages; $14
ISBN 978-0-9786172-1-9, Paper
http://www.switchbackbooks.com
by Kristina Marie Darling
Chosen by Arielle Greenberg as winner of last year's Gatewood Prize, Caroline Noble Whitbeck's Our Classical Heritage: A Homing Device combines the feminine with the fragmented, offering a complex vision of American girlhood. Stylistically compelling in her unconventional uses of diction and syntax, Whitbeck's poetry creates its own worlds from hand-dryers and "glitterstick eyeliner," presenting readers with a fun, quirky rhythms throughout. Read Review
Katherine E. Young's Gentling the Bones
Katherine E. Young's Gentling the Bones
Finishing Line Press 2007; 27 pages; $12
ISBN 978-1-59924-221-7, Paper
http://www.finishinglinepress.com
by Janet McCann
Gentling the Bones is a memorable poetry collection that explores the intersection of family and history with skill and imagination. Some of the poems have to do with the Southern heritage and the present state of Southern life; others concern more recent events and more varied locales. The Southern poems are particularly appealing. Read Review
