All of It, So Far --poetry by Anita May

 Zeitgeist Press

ISBN: 978-1-940572-54-3

Orders and other information at: www.Zeitgeist-Press.com

85 pages

5 Stars

 

From the first poem, What is the It? which begins, “Some people do it in rhythm, / others do it in rhyme.” to the end of the book, I was hooked. I used it as a bedtime read, what I read before turning out the light. No nightmares riding my skull those nights. 

 

The book has many photo throughout, but it is the words I was most interested in. Invisible Forces closes with this couplet, “I pray I have done all I can for your success, / I am capable of only very simple magic.” Haven’t we all prayed for those we love, sad we only had a very simple magic and needed the help of a Divine?

 

Normally, I will find a couple of poems in a book that I really like, but there are several in this book. Especially Permission to Fail. “Make a way / by going / begin /not knowing /” begins this poem, it ends, “venture / into the unknown / be wrong / honest / imperfect / you have / permission to fail/” I think this poem should be taught in every school. We all need to fail so we can grow. 

 

The final poem is short and contains a great deal of balance, Esse, “And / our lives / were filled /with / Joy / ...Our Sorrow / ...and / balanced / in / reality”

 

This book will happily reside in my bookcase for years, and often taken out and read.

Knowing When --by Mark Fleisher

 Publisher: Mercury HeartLink (March 7, 2023)

Language: English

Paperback: 56 pages

ISBN-13: 978-1949652260

Stars: 5

 

 

This my third book of poetry by Mark Fleisher, the first two being Incidental Moments and Intersections. One of the reasons I dearly love the poetry of this man is his unabashed willingness to include his wife. For her help and support, but mostly just because he’s in love with her.

 

This is a chapbook of about 26 poems, beginning with “The Mystery Of It All” which begins, “Like bards and troubadours / of days long past / we roam the countryside /” Right there, I knew I would like this book. And like the bards of old, Fleisher takes us through the countryside of life, death, and all that makes us human.

 

“Bittersweet Christmas” brought tears. Even now, I’m not sure exactly how it ends, and I’ve read it several times, “Her eyes could not contain / tears that welled and a few / slowly rolled down her checks /”.  The title poem, “Knowing When”is the penultimate poem of the collection, which this reviewer thinks is too short, by several poems (possibly not yet written). This poem gives us all a tutorial on when to walk off the stage. It us up to us to recognize it.

 

I eagerly await the next book. Mr. Fleisher writes narrative poetry, stories in stanzas, stories and stanzas that will melt your heart, bring a tear or two, or a laugh or three. Knowing When is delightful.

The Call Home by Susan Johnson

Publisher: Poetry Box (April 15, 2023

Language: English

Paperback: 42 pages

ISBN-13: 978-1956285345

5 Stars

 

 

I had the opportunity of hearing Susan Johnson read some poems from this book, and immediately ordered a copy. Usually, when I hear one or two poems from a book and then buy the book, I find those were the two poems I truly love, while the others are okay. As some of you may know, I have a nasty habit of dogearing the bottom corner of the page I love. For whatever reason I did not begin to do that while reading this book. I can honestly state my favorite poem in this book is all of them!

 

The poetry begins with “Along Scatter Creek” which begins with an epigraph of a Japanese Proverb, “The pebble in the brook secretly thinks itself a precious stone.” then goes into the poem, first line being: “And aren’t we each a pebble,” And with that first poem, first line, we are not only invited into these poems, we are expected to expand our lives, to partake of the non-calorie deserts brought to us.

 

Each poem in this book is a “precious stone” just waiting to be picked up, looked at with wonder and marvel at its beauty, then carefully put back in the creek to be found and marveled at a later date. Or put in your pocket to grace your dresser top.

 

The last poem, “Teach Me” is a call to Heron to teach Johnson, and each of us, the wonder he embodies, with the last line, “Teach me quiet consent to the call home.”

 

Johnson’s poetry is narrative, accessible, exquisite pictures painted with words. 

blacked out borderland from an exponential crisis –by john compton

Publisher: Ethel Zine, 2023, www.ethelzine.com

Language: English

Paperback: hand made,54 pages

5 Stars

 

I had the pleasure to see Mr. Compton read at one of the Zoom Room readings I attend, loved his reading—the poetry and the voice, so invested time and money in his chapbook. Well worth it. Normally, I mark the poems I loved more than others, but ran out of markers, (they arrive soon). In going through the book again, I realize I really like them all.

 

His dead poet poems are marvelous, “before we understood that death was here” brought me to tears, as did “skyla.” And, I really want to know how he knows about me and my closet, as he obviously does, from his poem “i am dressed in mistakes.” But then, perhaps it’s a common failing of many poets and writers. “i am dressed in mistakes /// garnished over my body / like an appetizer… / …from sweet imperfections / scattered throughout…”

 

If you need capital letters this book is not for you. I don’t think I saw a single one. If you like to play with words, get raw emotion from tears to laughter, and everything in between, then this is a book for you. And how many hand-made books do you have, anyhow? 

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.  

The Glass Constellation, New and Collected Poems --by Arthur Sze

Nonfiction / Poetry

Copper Canyon Press 

April 13, 2021

ISBN-13: 978-1556596219

560 pages

5 Stars

 

This book covers 50 years of Sze’s poetry. I saw him (via Zoom) give a reading when it was first released, and became so enthralled, I ordered a copy before the reading finished. Every poem in this book sings, some melodies reached out and grabbed me, others gently washed over and through me. He has several long poems, with each section numbered, and each section in a different format. He plays with words; he plays with format. 

 

I consider a book to be superb when the author sends me to the dictionary at least once. I have no idea how many times Mr. Sze sent me to the dictionary. I gave up trying to remember after 10. 

 

He takes us from China (Ancient and Modern) to the Pacific Northwest, from Santa Fe to the desert of Sahara, with stops at any and all places in between and around the globe. He made me laugh, he made me cry, but mostly he held me in thrall. I am in literary lust!

 

If you are a lover of contemporary poetry, I heartily recommend this book. If you aren’t sure about it, get the book anyhow. It’s a thing of beauty and a collection of pearls of great price.

 

American Sonnets for My Past and Future Assassin --by Terrance Hayes

 Nonfiction / Poetry

Penguin Books; 1^st Edition

June 19, 2018

112 pages

5 Stars

 

The back cover tells us these 70 poems were written during the first 200 days of the immediate past president’s tenure in office. They will grab you, shake you, turn you upside down, and possibly inside out, and you’ll love every minute of it.

 

Every sonnet has the same title as the book. Every sonnet is different. The poem on the back cover begins, “I lock you in an American sonnet that is part prison, / Part panic closet, a little room in a house set aflame. /” He does, eventually, unlock the door and let you out, but you’ll want to go back in to see what’s next.

 

I must read more of this young man’s work. It is, in a word, Amazing!

four-legged girl --by Diane Seuss

 Nonfiction / Poetry

88 pages

5 Stars

 

This is the third Seuss book I have read. While I really liked this one, her use of language is superior, I also wasn’t as fond of this book as the other two. Her writing is dark, edgy, accessible, honest. It is powerful, with both laughter and pain.

 

You will note, even though it wasn’t my favorite of her books I’ve read, it’s still a 5-star book! She is truly one of the top poets of our day, and her words should be read, especially by others who write, or want to write, poetry.

Felicity --by Mary Oliver

Poetry

96 pages

5 Stars

Mary Oliver's poetry always makes me feel more alive, more in turn with my world and all in it. Many of her poems in this little treasure, reminded me of certain friends. 

Do I have a favorite? Maybe. Possibly, I Have Just Said. But the next time I read it, who knows? We always bring our own stories to a book, whether of prose or poetry, and Ms. Oliver brings out the best of our stories. I miss her.

The Tangled Line --by Tod Marshall

Nonfiction / Literary /  Poetry 

63 pages

5 Stars

The three parts of this book flow within their parts, and when taken as a whole, they flow one into the other in seamless beauty. These are poems of fathers, sons, and separation; poems of love, loss, and reunification.

Do I have a favorite poem or two? Most assuredly. Am I going to tell you which I loved the most on the first time through? No. I want you to read these poems, and choose your own, not read one and wonder why I loved it over the others; besides, the next time I read it, I will be in a different space in my life, and the one loved last week, may not be the one loved the next time.

If you wonder why people are chosen to be the poet laureates of their state, reading this book will answer your question! I highly recommend this book if you are a lover of poetry and the way an expert strings words together to evoke beauty, emotion, even life itself.

Face --by Sherman Alexie

Poetry 

160 pages

5 Stars

It has been many years since I've found a book of Alexi's poetry, and when I found this I grabbed it. I was not disappointed. I was ecstatic.

Alexie shows no fear when he writes. He isn't afraid to experiment with words or with form. He not only combines prose with his poetry (poetry with his prose?), he has even found a way to use footnotes! At first, I was disconcerted with this, but as I read, I realized he had written poems within poem! Stunningly brilliant. (It reminds me of the old Choose Your Own Adventure series I bought my kids.)

I suggest you read the book before giving it to a child, no matter how precocious she might be, and be prepared to discuss whatever poems might come up in conversation, or you might be blindsided.

Alexie writes poetry for the people, not the "intelligentsia," all of his poetry is accessible, and in this book, he even explains a bit about how he writes. This collection is personal; it's about fathers and sons—his father, he as father, his sons, all fathers, all sons. There will be sadness and perhaps tears. There will also be light and laughter, especially when his wife enters the poem.

I hope we do not need to wait so long for the next collection.

The Lesser Fields --by Rob Schlegel

Poetry  

64 pages / 105 KB

5 Stars

Poetry should live on the page, or if need be, die on the page. Schlegel brings his poetry to life, and when necessary, to death on the page. And he does so with great beauty and tenderness.

This collection of short poems will feed you. They will bring smiles for the very beauty of his words. The images he evokes will, if you're a poet, bring jealousy that he wrote the words, evoked the images, and not you.

I had every intention of reading, and savoring, these poems one at a time. To limit myself to one per night. Well, you know about intentions and using them to pave certain highways – I gulped these poems over three nights. Many I went back and re-read, then re-read them again.

I am delighted to have this book in my library, and look forward to many evenings of reading it again. And again.

Every Dress a Decision --by Elizabeth Austen

Poetry

77 pages

5 Stars

I took a poetry workshop from Ms. Austen, our Washington State Poet Laureate. What a delightful two hours. After, I bought her book, curious to read her work, which was not used in the workshop.

She mentioned some personal life stories during the workshop, and this book tells a little about them. Many people I know read a book of poetry willy-nilly, they enjoy picking up the book and opening it to a poem. I tend to start at the beginning and read to the end. The beginning tells us it is in memory of her brother, who died too young at 37 years of age. I read the first three poems and stopped. The third poem is "What Is Known" – for her brother, Michael – just blew my socks off. She has several poems in this book with the same title, and they are very, very powerful.

This is not a book of lightness and humor; it is a book of delicately written pain, and sorrow. It explores life in all its meanings – and every reader will read their own poems, their own stories, into these words.

While it is not a book of lightness and humor, it is yet filled with light, and touches of humor. These poems will go directly to your heart; they will allow your soul to soar. I read the complete book in a matter of 3 or 4 sittings. I have since gone back to several of the poems to read again, and sometimes yet again, to read, to absorb, to marvel at the beautiful writing, and then to lay aside only to pick it up again and again.