Poetry Book Review: The Thorn Key, by Jeana Jorgensen
It’s not a long collection, containing about 40 poems (some just a few lines, many several e-pages long), a foreword, a list of content warnings/triggers, a fascinating multi-page afterword, and an appendix that lists which fairy tales inspired which poems. I don’t necessarily recommend trying to read all the poems in one go, since that may blunt their edges and impacts, but rather reading a few per day, taking time to savor them.
771. Stephanie M. Wytovich (a.k.a. The Mannequin Whisperer) — On the Subject of Blackberries
https://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/sand-f-771-stephanie-wytovich/SandF_771_StephanieWytovich.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSBeautiful rage, twisted lines, and terrors of the mind, oh my! Shaun Duke, Brandon O’Brien, and Trish Matson are joined by Stephanie M. Wytovich to talk about her latest poetry collection, On the Subject of Blackberries. Together, they discuss Wytovich’s approach to poetic form, to representing post-partum depression and motherhood in speculative poetry, and so much more. Plus, Shaun reads a haiku or two because everyone asked… Thanks for listening. We hope you enjoy the episode!
Book Review: Resurrections, by Ada Hoffmann
Resurrections shows a wide range of subject matter, themes and topics; nearly all of the pieces are interesting and engaging, and some of them are breathtakingly gorgeous and moving.
Book Review: Rosalind’s Siblings, edited by Bogi Takács
If you missed Rosalind’s Siblings when it was published in September 2023, please consider adding it to your reading list for the new year. It’s a very interesting anthology of speculative fiction and poems, containing some fascinating ideas and characters and some really beautiful language.
Book Review: Chasing Whispers by Eugen Bacon
African-Australian writer Eugen Bacon … writes poetry that can propel with prose-like narrative, while she constructs prose with a playful, poetic touch: fluid lines that invite readers to dance among possible meanings and interpretations, evocative words that sing out to strike emotional chords.
Book Review: Do Not Go Quietly: an Anthology of Victory in Defiance edited by Jason Sizemore and Lesley
What are you fighting for? Your space? More space? Your territory? More territory? Your reputation? A better reputation? A better outcome? The best possible outcome? — Bianca Lynn Springgs “Plot Twist” from Do Not Go Quietly: An Anthology of Victory in Defiance Bianca Lynne Spriggs’ volume-closing poem “Plot Twist” challenges the reader with these provocative questions and many more, and had I been doing editors Jason Sizemore’s and Lesley Connor’s job, I would have been sorely tempted to put it first rather than last. However, since this poem’s challenges are as good a return to the real world we’re all stuck in as they are a microcosm of the themes this collection explores, I can absolutely see why they chose otherwise. Which is to say that Sizemore and Connor earned every nickle they could ever conceivably be paid for producing Do Not Go Quietly: An Anthology of Victory in Defiance.
