February 21, 2023
Gentry Thomason’s Existential Ruminations is a collection of “poemographs,” which he explains are “attempts to articulate my thoughts in some rhythmical manner that approximate [sic] recognizable ordinary speech.” He shares that he does not “typically employ poetic artifice in these poemographs” and that they are 14 lines long, a container which he “absorbed from the […]
February 7, 2023
In Mental Health, Poetry, and I, Brendon Feeley explores the interior world of his mental health, among other topics, through mostly rhyming poems.
In the preface, Feeley writes that “Even in modern times, mental health is still attached to unjustified stigma and shame,” and that through writing poetry, he has “been able to find a […]
February 7, 2023
In this poetry collection, Sivateja Mukkamala writes about the trials and tribulations we so often encounter in our daily lives.
There is much that is heartfelt, warm and loving in this poetry collection. A common theme is that of taking the time to enjoy what we have rather than dwelling on the negatives: “Where we/ […]
February 7, 2023
Stephen C. Pollock’s Exits is an accomplished, beautifully produced poetry chapbook with themes ranging from the meditative and spiritual, centered in the natural world, to narrative works of personal and public history.
The book is comprised of 19 free-verse and neo-formal poems. Each is paired with a striking visual, typically an art photograph. Sometimes the […]
November 1, 2022
Dirk De Bock’s poetry collection, Champaign No Pain, muses about wide-ranging topics, from romantic relationships to delicious barbecue.
De Bock’s work generally rhymes and varies from the sweet and sensitive (In “Lovely Little Darling,” he muses, “Now we change, both of our lives for real/ twine our hearts together towards tomorrow…”) to the provocative (in […]
October 20, 2022
Rajib Chocroborty’s poetry collection tackles a wide variety of subjects, including gender equality, oppression, and love.
The collection is comprised of free verse and traditional forms. It is replete with gorgeous, well-selected imagery, as in “Mardian In Mumbai”: “Seeds tantalize, refuse to grow/ even with the perfume Venus and Mars left behind/ fierce affections take […]
September 16, 2022
Craig Carpenter Downer’s large collection of poems, journal entries, and essays, is the work of a devoted lifelong naturalist and adventurer. Much of the book is dedicated to his observations, insights, and experiences as a scholar of the natural world.
Downer’s poems are both rhyming and free verse. The wide-ranging topics include: the majesty of […]
August 19, 2022
Estelle M. Deshon’s poetry collection Way Leads Onto Way reads much like a journal of praise and affirmation, despair and travail met, endured and overcome.
Deshon considers matters both great (“Take your freedom; break my heart./ It is clear to me that we will part… / But how I hate this word—/ Divorce…”) and small […]
July 25, 2022
The lyric poems in Philip Isukapati’s collection My Love With Poesy offer the speaker’s heartfelt ruminations on life, love, and loss, as well as homages to the speaker’s family and friends.
Isukapati’s oversized book features poems centered on each page with a border of photographed flowers surrounding them. Readers can feel the speaker’s sincere emotion. […]
July 19, 2022
Still, the Sky is an impeccably researched and elegantly designed collection combining poetry exploring and reimagining the dual Bildungsromane of Icarus and Asterion with intriguing installation artwork that enhances the text.
Author Tom Pearson’s volume is a dramatic, book-length poem with a prologue, seven sections, and an epilogue. Its first lines — “My departure instigated […]