Ten Little Indians --by Sherman Alexie

 Publisher: Grove Press; Reprint edition (March 17, 2004)

Language: English

Paperback: 243 pages

ISBN-13: 978-080214117;0

5 Stars

 

In full disclosure, I’ve been in literary lust with Sherman Alexie since I first read one of his books, and the lust lives. No, I’ve never met him. And I am NOT in lust with him, just his writing.

 

Also, my copy of Ten Little Indians is probably somewhat different than yours, as I read an “Uncorrected Proof.” 

 

I love short stories. And these did not disappoint. I laughed in many, got sad in a couple, and angry in one or two. Most stories are funny, most offer insight and might give you something to think about. Like Rez humor? Read this book. There is a reason Alexie wins awards for his writing. 

 

But why only 9 stories? Why not 10? Or did I miscount?

All of Us --The Collected Poems of Raymond Carver

Publisher: Vintage; Reprint edition (April 4, 1996)

Language: English

Paperback: 416 pages

ISBN-13: 978-03575703805

5 Stars

 

I knew Carver as a writer of short stories and somewhat excited when I heard he was a poet. My friend suggested I get this book, a good choice.

 

Carver knew no boundaries in his poetry. If he made a poor choice, he admitted it, he wrote of the beauty he saw and the pain he lived. He was honest in his poetry and accessible by anyone. Don’t think you like poetry? Try these poems, they’re like mini memoir, mini stories. 

 

He begins with Drinking While Driving, “It’s August and I have not / read a book in six months / except something called The Retreat From Moscow /…” His second poem, Luck, explains a lot, “I was nine years old. / I had been around liquor / all my life. My friends / drank too, but they could handle it.”

 

The last poem, before the Appendixes (which you’ll want to read, too) is Late Fragment, “And did you get what / you wanted from this life, even so? / I did. / And what did you want? / To call myself beloved, to feel myself / beloved on the earth.” Is there a better poem to end the book? To end his life? 

 

There are something like 300 poems in this book, will you like them all? Probably not, but the ones you will like, and you will like some, will speak to you as no other poem possibly could. This is a book every reader needs. 

One Fell Swoop --poems by Dig Wayne

 Publisher: innateDIVINITYbooks (June 25, 2023)

Language: English

Paperback: 71 pages

ISBN-13: 978-1953234049

5 Stars

 

These little poems pack a wallop. Some are pure fun; some will make you think. The book begins, “a ray of sunshine // a dog wags its tail” A subtle warning about DNA testing and the last poem, “low hanging fruit / … / let the truth be told”

 

Dig Wayne is a master storyteller, and these stories are masterfully told. A perfect book to read on a trip, at the beach, while visiting your in-laws. 

Walking Backward --poems by Margaret Stawowy

 Publisher: Kelsay Books (September 7, 2023)

Language: English

Paperback: 64 pages

ISBN-13: 978 1639803279

5 Stars

 

I have had the marvelous opportunity to see Ms. Stawowy read a few times at various Zoom venues, and when her new book came out, I couldn’t wait to order and read it. The book tells the story of her mother’s decline into dementia and discovering the secrets in her birth certificate. It is written in 4 parts: A letter to her Ancestors, then parts I Biological Family 1924, II Adoptive Family 1925 – 1960, and lastly III Fractured Family 1960 – 2018.

 

The letter, Dear Ancestors, introduces us to secrets, “So secret, if I could speak directly to you through soup cans, / the twine would spontaneously ignite.” 

 

Harry the Barber: Shotgun Wedding in Retrospect, begins Part I. And right off the bat, he blames the woman, it’s her responsibility to keep track of periods, to not get knocked up, to say no. Then we have poems by Bertha, the long-suffering wife, and Faye, the other woman. Then, the women get their say. The letter from the advice columnist is pretty true to the day. 

 

All poems begin with the name of the person telling/writing the poem. And if you should happen to get confused, Ms. Stowawy put an easily read Family Tree in the back.

 

Part II begins with a poem ‘by’ Fred: Counterfeit Father. He is part of the reasons for secrets as he begins, “When people examine the birth certificate, I want / no suspicions, no casting of aspersions. No one / thinking: rotten parents, rotten offspring. Everything / should look innocent as the infant herself.”

 

Part III is more about Doris: Looking Back and Doris’s War: Dementia and Doris: Return to the High Seas. It isn’t until then we meet Margaret as Me: Daughter of Doris,  Dear Mom, // After you died, I saw you / wrapped in a puncture-proof plastic, // You, Mother Mary/Kali, / angel/destroyer, // … // You once asked me to find / the parents who gave you away. / …// where I can her you. Them.”

 

The last poem, Fern: Remarrying My Parents, / I Have Mending the Ending. Fern a daughter of Berta and Harry, brings them back together, has them married posthumously in the Mormon Church. She is, “…the needle, the thread. // I have mended the ending.”

 

This book is a fascinating read of family and family interactions. Especially when some of those interactions are meant to be and stay, secret. And how DNA and the www. can become powerful search tools.

 

Heartedly recommend this book.     

The World According to Crow --by Sinead McClure

 Publisher: The Calendar Road Press (October 12, 2022)

Language: English

Paperback: 37 pages

ISBN-13: 978-1739102005

5 Stars

 

I attended a Zoom poetry reading where Ms. McClure was one of the featured readers. I don’t remember how many poems she read before I had already gone to the site and ordered her book. I marked half as favorites and on a reread, added more.

 

The book begins with The Word According to Crow.  It begins, “Rooks do good mimicry but this orator is no priest, / collarless and open=beaked he shifts his weight on the steeple. / His sermon, a daily litany of caws and trills. // … A black and white streak of cirrus-crow / evaporates to silence.”

 

The poems ask questions such as, “Where does Keshcorran go in the fog?” A good question, that. Several animals and birds speak in this collection (and a hill with caves). We hear from a pangolin, a jackdaw, and the world. The poem, Preparing my dog for reincarnation is a delight as she tries to give it cooking tips, teach it patience, only to come to the realization at the end that the dog has, “No care or thought / for any other moment.”

 

We read of fox and moth and end with, Dream Catcher.  “The dream catcher takes our harshest winters / hold tight, to spin forever from the alder.”  

 

This is a delightful book. One to be read and enjoyed many times.  

Poems from a Blue Dot --by Brett Nelson

 Publisher: Brett Nelson, brnelson4@gmail.com

Language: English

Paperback: 130 pages

ISBN: 979-8-9867914-0-1

5 Stars

 

Full disclosure: Brett Nelson and I read at the same open mic venues now and then. I’ve always admired his poetry, so ordered the book. I am grateful I did.

 

Not only does he have narrative poetry that tells great stories, his poetry is accessible to anyone who isn’t sure whether they would like poetry or not. As an added bonus, there are about 36 color photos in the book, that he took and that give a more complete atmosphere (and also make me homesick for Albuquerque).

 

His first poem, Looking Right at Me starts with “Lying outside in the darkest places-- / in the middle of the Pecos Wilderness / or remote canyons on the Colorado Plateau, / … / so it feels like each and every star is / looking right at me. / They talk to me straight and clear. /”

 

Each poem is a mini memoir of his journey on this planet, this Blue Dot we all share. Each poem is a love story, whether between Nelson and Earth, or Nelson and Persons. American Stew tells how “I cook with lots of spices and don’t measure,” and ends with an admonition that he doesn’t want our country’s melting pot to melt down too much, “he wants the stew to remain a stew, not a puree.”

 

Alive and Awake, brings us to the end of this book. He’s still “hiking the gently rolling hills  / at the foot of the Sandia Mountains / …mindful of all I walk past,” until he gets to the end where we perhaps learn his secret to long life, “so I embrace it today and pull it close, / watch all I see and listen to the voice of the wind / and to my own mind and heart, / alive and awake to the day that offers itself.” 

 

Mr. Nelson embodies the Lakota Mitakue Oyasin, all my relations, in his book of poetry. 

What's Left --by Connie K. Walle

 Publisher: MoonPath Press (September 1, 2028)

Language: English

Paperback: 102 pages

ISBN-13: 978-1936657391

5 Stars

 

I remember Ms. Walle from several years ago when we’d meet at workshops in the Puget Sound area. I was delighted to see this book, and even more delighted to read it. I remember her as having a great sense of humor, and able to turn most any story into something humorous. My memory was correct.

 

This book of short poems (almost as short as she) gives us a fascinating look at the different faces of love, and even sex of the era. Ms. Walle tells of requited love, unrequited love, painful love, and ecstatic love, married love and not married love. There is pathos, humor, and some pain in this book. 

 

Her penultimate poem, “The Silence of Death” may bring a tear or two, her final poem, “Dying Wish” is the perfect ending for this book, an ending with a laugh—“Then, watch billbords / for my answer.”

 

Long live Connie Walle on our planet and in our hearts.

 

Owl Poems --by Zach Hively

 Publisher: Casa Urraca Press (December 13, 2022)

Language: English

Paperback: 72 pages

ISBN-13: 978-1956375114

5 Stars

 

This is a small book, with huge poems, and delightful art. Open the book and begin with the words: “World-watching Owl,” / wielder of wisdom, / … / into the necessities of both / beginnings and ends.” The poems after this first one run the gamut from prose to haiku, to narrative. 

 

Some of these poems brought forth laughter, all brought forth thinking. And the last poem, “An owl’s blessing”, oh, what a blessing it is. “May your feet always be quick, / because a chase is more fun. / … / I will mantle my wings around you, / All is not and never will be lost.” I have read this last poem over and over and over again. 

 

This is a delightful book, full of owl wisdom, and one I will read through many times.