Like angels and unicorns, fables have made themselves scarce of late, but leave it to the land and language of magic realism to bring forth a bona fide specimen. A gorgeously illustrated, book-length poem of masterful prose, there’s... Read More

Long stretches of hunger, sleep deprivation, filth, fear-filled nights under bridges, and the accompanying existential questions will leave a mark on a man, and his poetry. Kai Carlson-Wee lays it out there in this shy, wistful,... Read More

Curiosity skilled the poet. Seemingly unwilling to rein in her interests, Jen Town’s sense of wonder and delight with what catches her attention is infectious. Her work has lit up the pages of Epoch, Crab Orchard Review, Third Coast,... Read More

Inspiration. Elusive stuff. Find it where you can—ideally, not from a bottle. Robert Eastwood found it Dante’s Purgatorio, and went so far as to use the Italian master’s three-line stanzas. Consider us impressed. Twice a Pushcart... Read More

Good poets seem to recognize that what makes them good is what annoys them most about themselves. Damn the constant chatter—enough already!—but yes, admittedly, there’s some workable stuff in there. A masterful sifter, Tony... Read More

The gods of poetry surely must experience severe bouts of eye-rolling boredom—a result of all too many weightless, inconsequential poems. But this anthology for young adults demonstrates poetry’s superpowers by offering more than... Read More

Stuart David’s character Peacock Johnson has already been through a bit, appearing in an earlier David novel and an actual Ian Rankin crime novel (it’s a long story). Now he’s back in Peacock’s Alibi, a fun caper highlighted by... Read More

In an ideal world, we would be no shorter or taller than we need to be, no thinner or heavier, smarter or dimmer. We would be what we needed to be. Similarly, writing need not be short or long to be what it needs to be. When the work is... Read More