Laurel Szymkowiak – Leaving

Leaving Next spring my grandfather’s trellised pink roses will bloom without him.                My husband prunes the canes for him,    anyway. My grandfather’s house shrinks in too much stillness. I miss                his scent     mint candy and Old Spice.                                                             Where is the pillow from his chair? From the front porch I watch barges on the river at […]

Sean Thomas Dougherty’s Death Prefers the Minor Keys, Reviewed by Shawn Pavey

Death Prefers the Minor Keys Sean Thomas Dougherty BOA Editions Ltd. Reviewer: Shawn Pavey What Sean Thomas Dougherty accomplishes with this sizable collection of prose poems is miraculous, a word not to be used lightly. I stand by it because these poems, with their unflinching openness and lyrical musicality, are powerful and vibrant and innovative. […]

Andrea Hollander’s And Now, Nowhere But Here, Reviewed by Erica Goss

Andrea Hollander And Now, Nowhere But Here Terrapin Books Reviewer: Erica Goss In her new book, And Now, Nowhere But Here, Andrea Hollander looks back at the complexities and contradictions of a long life. The poems in this wise and often luminous collection explore the aftermath of betrayal and its effects on a marriage, as […]

John Bradley – Things I Should Apologize For Spell

Things I Should Apologize For Spell Speaking to a smudge that once belonged to Marcus Aurelius. Nazi-actors, cinematic hair, bituminous tea, transparent teeth. My birthplace, a wheelbarrow, my birthplace, a pencil, it follows. Stray words slipping from a vague mouth at the airport: Stay afloat. Cheap, abundant cirrus clouds from Abilene, afraid of the samba. […]

Alicia Elkort – He asked what the implications would be

He asked what the implications would be if we were to love each other. I said planetarium I said hubris I said expulsion— I could see how the tenor of our time would be about eating an apple, spitting out the seeds, it was the way he didn’t care for poetry, the way he whispered […]