Edward Dorn Penguin Poets ($20) by Mark Terrill With the publication of Edward Dorn’s Way More West, it’s now possible within the context of a single volume to gauge the wide range and scope of the career of one of the most significant and controversial poets included under the rubric of the New American Poetry. Constantly […]
Nancy Kuhl Shearsman Books ($15) by James Berger Nancy Kuhl’s first full length book of poems tells, or suggests, stories of women’s lives wildly disparate in action, but connected in feeling: of the adolescent Salome; of Amelia Earhart; of St. Catherine; and of the primary character, a composite, unnamed woman whose title is that of […]
Joseph Lease Coffee House Press ($15) by Noah Eli Gordon There is in the Jewish tradition a daily prayer called the Sh’ma, which begins: Shema Yisrael Adonai Eloheinu Adonai Ehad. Although the translation can vary, it is roughly equivalent to: Hear, O Israel! The Lord, our God. The Lord is One. The prayer is a testament to […]
Shin Yu Pai 1913 Press ($16) by Lucas Klein Shin Yu Pai writes a poetry of sensory overload. Beneath a surface tension of typography and ekphrasis, Sightings: Selected Works presents poems about commoditization, communication, sexism, and sex. At times her language skims with channel-surfing quickness, but somehow her postmodernism conveys depth, too, where meanings might battle against […]
Rebecca Loudon Ravenna Press ($13.95) by Rebecca Weaver “Maculate stony / spalls mapping her thrash,” in the poem “Vacuuming the House of God,” portends other dark and rhythmic passages in Rebecca Loudon’s new poetry collection, Radish King. Loudon’s language works with a sense of mystical urgency; in places, these poems are deeply personal at the same time […]
Bruna Mori Paintings by Matthew Kinney Meritage Press ($14.95) by Craig Perez In the essay “Theory of the Dérive,” Situationist International founder Guy Debord defines a basic situationist practice: “the dérive (literally: ‘drifting’) [is] a technique of rapid passage through varied ambiances. Dérives involve playful-constructive behavior and awareness of psychogeographical effects, and are quite different from the […]
Daniel Borzutzky BlazeVOX ($14) by Vincent Czyz At first, Daniel Borzutzky’s The Ecstasy of Capitulation seems like another small book from another small press, and initially the collection doesn’t defy expectations of boredom: “Noun Clause” was a snooze. “Present Progressive” didn’t progress. “Simple Present” was simply forgettable: I only think of you when I do not think […]
Peter Kuper Crown ($19.95) by David A. Beronä Peter Kuper’s latest work is an extensive self-parody of a cartoonist’s life and an impressive example of autobiographical fiction in a graphic narrative. Kuper portrays his alter ego as Walter Kurtz, a middle-aged cartoonist who invites the reader into his studio to hopscotch between self-absorbed tales of […]
Kim Deitch Pantheon ($23) by Todd Robert Petersen The term “graphic novel” has become ubiquitous over the last few years, but in many cases it’s a misnomer. The major graphic narratives of the last few years have been autobiographical. Even though graphic memoirs from Maus to Persepolis challenge both the traditional comics and narrative memoir forms, Kim Deitch injects […]
Matt Fraction and Gabriel Bá Image Comics ($24.99) by Rudi Dornemann As part of the new “slimline” format from Image Comics that’s meant to be more accessible than the bulk of comics produced by the major publishers, Matt Fraction and Gabriel Bá’s Casanova is relatively inexpensive and generally self-contained. These constraints shape the comic, increasing the density […]