I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.
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Author and poet G.W. Wietgrefe share a collection of witty and relaxing poetry to help ease the stress of everyday life in the book “Dakota Country Problems”.
The Synopsis
Rhyming light-hearted poems are rare today. There is no better stress reliever than a smile after reading Half-Assed Ranch, Duck Lesson, Innuendo, Rock in the Road, Need Credit, Can, Time’s Right, Anticipate Fishing, Dad’s Desk, or a book full of relaxing poetry. Keep Dakota Country Poems on your desk, end table, or nightstand and smile.
The Review
This was a heartfelt and captivating read. The author does a remarkable job of creating a calming and easy-going vibe throughout many of his poems, touching upon the memories and experiences of his life and allowing the sometimes fun, sometimes sad, but always memorable moments to shine brightly on the page.
The use of rhyme in these poems utilized the simplicity of the art form to bring to life some heartfelt lessons on life and those who live within it. One poem that spoke to me personally was Badger, which utilized the life and experiences of the animal to help illustrate the need to reach out to those who isolate themselves from society and ask themselves if it is isolation through choice or a form of self-sabotage through loneliness.
The Verdict
Heartfelt, gripping, and thoughtfully written, author G.W. Wietgrefe’s “Dakota Country Poems” is a must-read poetry collection. The heart and passion for which the author writes these poems and the balance of lighthearted fun with care and essential themes make this a compelling collection not to be missed. If you haven’t yet, be sure to grab your copy today!
Rating: 10/10
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About the Author
Gary Wietgrefe (pronounced wit’ grif) is an inventor, researcher, military intelligence veteran, agriculturalist, economist, systems developer, societal explorer, cyclist, hiker, outdoorsman, and author. See www.RelatingtoAncients.com.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.
Author and poet James Morehead share a chilling and rich collection of poetry that delves into the nature of existence in the book “The Plague Doctor”.
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The Synopsis
A mesmerizing collection of eerie, image-rich poems that explore the fleeting nature of existence and friendship, inspired by the world of art and artists. The Plague Doctor combines poetry with mesmerizing ink drawings by Natalia Ardus, art by Mark Kulas and Tony Rubino, and photography by the author.
Poet and musician Lisa Marie Simmons writes in her forward to the collection, “I’ve read this collection three, four, then five times. In my office, in the tour van and the green room, after yoga, and once bundled up beneath an ancient olive tree. Despite those many deep dives, it never seems enough to complete this forward. So I returned—six, seven, ten times. Each reading has me focusing on something new, and a year from now, I know more discoveries will be made as my perspective shifts with my own experiences. This is one of the many things I love about poetry and, in particular, Poet Laureate of Dublin, California, James Morehead’s poetry.”
The Review
These were some incredibly powerful and chilling poems. The fantastic imagery and atmosphere that the author is able to tap into with these poems will stick with readers long after the book has been read, and the imagery that accompanies the book’s pages helps evoke an emotional response that touches upon the iconography that we latch onto to represent the key emotional moments in our lives.
To me, the heart of this collection rested in the balance between macabre imagery and heartfelt themes. The idea of life and death plays across some of life’s toughest moments, from life in the big city (San Francisco in this case) to the striking fear of performing alone on a stage. I also enjoy the way the book was divided into “Acts” as if life were a play and the poems were but the stage in which they were lived, and the way these poems also reflected on the artistic works that moved the author throughout their journey through San Francisco was greatly expressed through these poems.
The Verdict
Heartfelt, haunting, and engaging, author James Morehead’s “The Plague Doctor” is a must-read poetry collection. The almost narrative feel to the overall collection and the memorable way the author was able to tackle such dark and entertaining imagery through their poems with the emotional journey that the poems represented made this a compelling book to get lost in. If you haven’t yet, be sure to grab your copy today!
I recieved a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.
The late author and poet Margaret Grote has her collection of poems shared and illustrated thanks to her son David and his cousin and children’s book illustrator Marcia Wheelan Coles in the book “I Like Mud: and other poems for the young and young at heart”.
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The Synopsis
In the final year of her life, award-winning poet Margaret Grote (1922-2005) handed a collection of poems to her son, David, with instructions to “do something” with them. David jumped right on it, and 17 years later approached his cousin, Marcia Wheelan Coles, a children’s book author and illustrator. Truth be told, these whimsical and sometimes poignant poems were gathering dust in David’s closet until Marcia brought them to life with her beautiful artwork. Growing up during the Depression, Margaret came to appreciate life’s simple pleasures, a theme recurrent in these poems. Mother of four, she was an artist, photographer, writer, and poet. She taught fourth grade for 35 years. Her love of children is on full display in these pages, and although the writing is meant for children, young-at-heart adults will also love this collection. Somewhere, Margaret is smiling, knowing that her son finally kept his promise and that her work lives on, bringing joy and laughter to a whole new generation of children
The Review
This was a truly moving and engaging collection of poetry. The balance that can be found in the simple and eloquent imagery and themes the collection evokes in young readers with the nostalgia and childhood wonder that adults can find in the book. The poems tackle everything from the color pink and friendship to the bond between a child and their dog and the ways in which children consistently question the universe.
The beautiful illustrations and the way the poems speak to a variety of different readers made this a remarkable poem collection. The warmth and thoughtful approach to the poetry and the heartwarming story behind the author’s son carrying on his mother’s legacy like this made the book such a delight to behold.
The Verdict
Memorable, emotional, and engaging, author and poet Margaret Grote’s “I Like Mud” is a must-read collection of children’s style poems and poetry. The heart behind the poet’s words and the delight and joy that the heart of each poem brought allowed parents and children alike to be drawn into the poems themselves. If you haven’t yet, be sure to grab your copy today!
I started writing poetry when I was a kid. My mother let me borrow her college poetry textbook (circa 1969), and so I learned about T.S. Eliot, e.e. cummings, poetic forms, metaphors, and such things way before we would get around to them in school. I won a couple of poetry recitation contests in 5th and 6th grade, and the prizes were the collected works of Emily Dickinson and Carl Sandburg (I still have both). I think the first book of poetry I bought myself was the collected Edna St. Vincent Millay, when I was about 11.
My first degree was in Pre-Med Biology. I meant to become a doctor—but I took creative writing classes on the side. When I graduated, my immunologist told me there was no way my health would allow me to complete medical school, as grueling as it was in the early nineties. So I decided to set my sights elsewhere. Soon I started my MA in English, where I was introduced to formalism, deconstruction, and other -isms (and made some good friends). When I graduated, looking to be able to support myself, I took a job as a technical writer. I was still writing poetry, but not seriously trying to publish, until a health crisis struck and I had to quit my tech job. My husband suggested pursuing my earlier dream of being a writer.
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Starting my Journey as a Poet
I tried out some local writer’s conferences (on scholarship) and seriously researching the literary magazine scene, volunteering for a few local literary magazines, and sending out work. I put together enough published poems for a chapbook, and got it published—my first little collection of poems, called Female Comic Book Superheroes. I applied to a few low-residency MFA programs, and started one, taking a semester off in the middle for (once again) health issues. During that off semester, I sent out my first book manuscript and had it accepted, which was Becoming the Villainess, published by a (then-brand-new) press called Steel Toe Books in Kentucky. The chapbook and book were considered “speculative” poetry at that time, not very common—poems about video game characters and superheroines were not common in the mainstream literary magazines, certainly not represented in the prizes. So I was a little out there. But it had a very positive response from young people, which I was very happy to see. If you can’t read and enjoy a few poems about comic book story arcs or mythological women turned to dragons when you’re young, then when can you?
Journey from First Book to Sixth
I felt very lucky with that first book—I had some modest success for a very new small publisher and a very small new poet. I was still able to travel more easily back then—making 20-hour car trips between Western Kentucky, Akron, and upstate New York.
Now that I’m on my sixth book, Flare, Corona, with a great publisher, BOA Editions, I’m a little older, with a little more in terms of health challenges (MS among them), and I’m not physically able to do what I used to. However, with the pandemic, I learned some new skillsets—photography and gardening among them—and I read a lot. During the first months of the pandemic, I tried writing a few personal essays – and got them published in Salon. This book is the most vulnerable and more autobiographical than all my previous books. My previous books: Becoming the Villainess, She Returns to the Floating World, and Unexplained Fevers, I frequently wrote in persona—characters from mythology, fairy tales, anime, and traditional folk tales. In Field Guide to the End of the World, I created a fictional character navigating a fictional apocalyptic landscape (though it didn’t feel fictional in 2020!), so at least there was a little differentiation between the main speaker and myself. In Flare, Corona the speaker is essentially me, describing some incredibly difficult experiences. I had to figure out a way to write these poems in a way that was direct but felt comfortable. I found myself writing a kind of “mutant sonnet” as well as prose poems—forms that helped me hold difficult subject matter in place, so to speak. Some themes from previous books return—a supervillain perspective on coronavirus, apocalypse poems, writing about growing up in Oak Ridge and its radioactive contamination—and those poems allowed me to, for instance, address what I refer to in the book as “the plague years” in a way that felt real and not cliché.
I’ve learned over the 20 or so years of publishing poetry books that one of the best things about the poetry world is making friends with the people in it—my publishers were, to the person, excellent human beings, and I consider many of them real friends and I truly grieved when I lost one of the them to cancer. I am very lucky to now have a bigger press—BOA Editions, who published some of my poetry heroes, like Dorianne Laux and Lucille Clifton—take my latest book, and I really am enjoying working with them as the book comes out into the world. Kindness to people becomes really important, and supporting other poets and writers as we go through our literary life is something I cannot recommend enough. I’ve been doing poetry book reviews for 20 years, and even if there is little monetary reward in it, I’m happy to have done it. Meeting friends I’ve made at a conference or a reading twenty years ago remains a great pleasure, even if I can’t travel as much as I used to. Community is important as a structure to support you and a structure to support other writers.
My work itself continues to evolve—as I play around with form, and language, and persona. My next book must be impacted by the last few years, but I don’t want it to be purely about that, and may also involve some of the ideas that appeared in Flare, Corona—the desire or will to survive despite difficult conditions. There will probably be dragons in it.
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About the Author
Jeannine Hall Gailey is a poet with multiple sclerosis who served as the 2nd Poet Laureate of Redmond, Washington. She’s the author of six books of poetry: Becoming the Villainess, She Returns to the Floating World, Unexplained Fevers,The Robot Scientist’s Daughter, Field Guide to the End of the World, winner of the Moon City Press Book Prize and the Elgin Award, and the newest, Flare, Corona from BOA Editions. She has a B.S. in Biology and M.A. in English from the University of Cincinnati and an MFA from Pacific University. Her work appeared in The American Poetry Review, Ploughshares, and Poetry. Her web site is www.webbish6.com.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.
Author and poet LindaAnn LoSchiavo share a collection of poetry that explores themes of love, death, life, and everything in between in the collection “Apprenticed to the Night”.
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The Synopsis
“Apprenticed to the Night” is a collection of 66 poems focused on mortality, betrayal, memory, trauma, and the bewilderment of loss as constantly shifting enigmas. It explores themes of life, death, childhood, trauma, family, and love. The book is divided into three sections: Youth, Maturity, and Beyond. Reviewers have called this collection a powerful and moving collection of poetry that is honest, insightful, innovative, and beautifully written. – – – – “Apprenticed to the Night” is available in hardcover, paperback, and a e-version from UniVerse Press (the poetry imprint of Beacon Books). – –
The Review
This is a compelling and heartfelt collection of poetry. The poet does a remarkable job of taking readers on a metaphysical journey of sorts, traversing the realms of reality, memory, and thematic symphonies as each poem reflects both experiences and hardships respectfully. The imagery found in the author’s writing was quite powerful, packing an almost cinematic gut punch as each poem brought a clash of realism and lyricism to life on the page.
For me, the heart of this narrative collection of poems came from the thought-provoking atmosphere and the emotional heartbeat of the collection overall. The journey through themes of life, death, trauma, abandonment, womanhood, and more made the story of the author’s experiences come to life through each poem so artfully.
The Verdict
Memorable, heartfelt, and engaging, author LindaAnn LoSchiavo’s “Apprenticed to the Night” is a must-read collection of poems you won’t be able to put down. The heart and passion meld with the author’s creativity so naturally that readers will be drawn to this book over and over again. If you haven’t yet, be sure to grab your copy today!
Rating 10/10
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About the Author
Native New Yorker LindaAnn LoSchiavo, a four time nominee for The Pushcart Prize, has also been nominated for Best of the Net, the Rhysling Award, and Dwarf Stars. She is a member of SFPA, The British Fantasy Society, and The Dramatists Guild.
Elgin Award winner “A Route Obscure and Lonely” (US: Wapshott Press, 2019), “Women Who Were Warned” (UK: Cerasus Poetry, 2022), Firecracker Award, Balcones Poetry Prize, Quill and Ink, Paterson Poetry Prize, and IPPY Award nominee “Messengers of the Macabre” [co-written with David Davies] (US: Audience Askew, 2022), “Apprenticed to the Night” (UK: UniVerse Press, 2023), and “Felones de Se: Poems about Suicide” (Canada: Ukiyoto Publishing, 2023) are her latest poetry titles.
In 2023, her poetry placed as a finalist in Thirty West Publishing’s “Fresh Start Contest” and in the 8th annual Stephen DiBiase contest.
LoSchiavo is a Prohibition Era historian and her Texas Guinan film won “Best Feature Documentary” at N.Y. Women’s Film Fest (Dec. 2021).
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.
Author and poet James Morehead take readers on a journey from childhood to adulthood, from Soviet Union era-Russia to the Canadian wilderness, Wyoming, and beyond in his book “portraits of red and gray: memoir poems”.
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The Synopsis
Take an unforgettable journey from the Cold War USSR to Savery, Wyoming, from the mountains of Tuscany to the peak of Yosemite’s Half Dome, from the Canadian wilderness to the beaches of Normandy. James Morehead’s (Poet Laureate – Dublin, California) acclaimed collection is built around a series of memoir poems that takes readers into pre-perestroika Soviet Union through the eyes of a teenager, from Moscow to Tbilisi to Leningrad (and many stops in-between). The striking cover, designed by Zoe Norvell, is based on a 1982 lithograph by Igor Prilutsky.
The Review
This was such a moving and beautiful collection of poetry. The author does a remarkable job of using profound imagery that feels both relatable and memorable at the same time, and the varied pacing of each poem speaks to the uniqueness of the memories that make up the subject of each poem, speaking to a specific moment in the author’s life that added to their growth as a person.
To me, the author’s work really worked for the balance in the surface-level themes of life experiences in specific places with the deeper meaning of love itself. Each poem spoke not only to the location of the author’s experience, but the person that they spent that memory with, whether it was the boating trip with his father, watching his Italian grandmother-in-law bake, and so on and so forth. The details that went into each poem spoke to the experience and things around the author that resonated with the person he was with, speaking to the insightful nature of his experiences, even when the person he resonated with was his younger self.
The Verdict
Memorable, thoughtful, and engaging, author James Morehead’s “portraits of red and gray: memoir poems” is a must-read collection of poetry. The emotional and moving connection the reader makes to the author’s experiences blends well with the imagery and vividness of each poem, making this a wonderful read. If you haven’t yet, be sure to grab your copy today!
Rating: 10/10
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About the Author
James Morehead is Poet Laureate of Dublin, CA. portraits of red and gray is his second collection, and he hosts the Viewless Wings Poetry Podcast. James’ poem “tethered” was transformed into an award-winning animated short film, “gallery” was set to music for baritone and piano, and his poems have appeared in numerous publications. He is currently based in the San Francisco Bay Area.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.
Author Raven Howell invites young readers and parents alike to delight in the magic and wonder that is poetry in the book “The 20 Little Poems For 20 Little Gnomes”.
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The Synopsis
Discover the magic in simple moments when a child peers in the mirror to unintentionally come upon his smile, where kittens nap in boots, fairy hugs feel good, mice delight in reading books, and January snowflakes taste yummy.
Twenty whimsical poems warm the heart and inspire cheer; a collection enticing both the young and seasoned reader to explore the enchantment of the wonderful world of poetry.
The Review
This was a light-hearted and delightful read. The author did an incredible job of finding just the right balance between fun, educational, and emotional writing that will resonate with young readers just learning poetry’s magical wonder. The short length of each poem and the almost airy quality of the poems themselves helped to create that atmosphere that allows a book to be read over and over again.
The warmth of the illustrations really lent itself to the heart of these poems. The author was able to showcase both fun and thoughtful poems on everything from food to a child’s reflection, to more complex things like the emotions of sadness and joy and how we can cope. The heart and compassion for which the author wrote these poems were felt on every page.
The Verdict
Thoughtful, memorable, and engaging, author Raven Howell’s “The 20 Little Poems for 20 Little Gnomes” is a must-read children’s book that meets the book of poetry. The lighthearted and whimsical nature of the poems and the warmth of the imagery blend together to create a reading experience parents and children alike will delight in sharing together. If you haven’t yet, be sure to grab your copy today!
Rating: 10/10
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About the Author
Raven Howell writes stories and poetry for children. Having published several award-winning picture books, she enjoys sharing her love of literature by visiting classrooms and libraries. Raven is Creative & Publishing Advisor for Red Clover Reader, served as Poetry Director for Monster Magnificent, and writes The Book Bug column for Story Monsters Ink magazine. Her poems are found in children’s magazines such as Ladybug, Spider, Highlights for Children,Humpty Dumpty, and Hello Magazine. She’s an editor, and collaborating author for Reading is Fundamental SoCal.
When not writing, Raven enjoys sunshine and the beach, spending time with her family, hiking, laughing, reading, goofing around with artwork, and inventing new recipes.
Join us at our WOW! blog today, The Muffin, for the blog tour launch of The 20 Little Poems for 20 Little Gnomes by Raven Howell. You can read an interview with the author and have a chance to win a copy of the book for yourself.
Visit Glenda’s blog today to read her review of The 20 Little Poems for 20 Little Gnomes by Raven Howell. You’ll also have a chance to win a book copy too!
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.
Author and Poet Gary E. Moore use his experience living in Chicago’s South Side and as an inner-city school teacher and father to deliver a collection of poetry that dispels the trope of the “angry black man” and instead paints a realistic yet emotionally-driven image of vulnerability in his book, “Songs for the Cleveland Avenue Warriors”.
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The Synopsis
Some poets spend their lives within the cloistered walls of colleges and universities.Gary E. Moore has spent his life dedicated to education-but not behind cloisteredwalls. In over fi ve decades on Earth, he’s been educated by the streets of Chicago’ssouth side, by a system designed to deal out law and order disproportionately, andby a culture which rejects the idea of the nurturing, gentle black man. In his poeticdebut, Moore draws on his experience as an inner city schoolteacher, as a father, and as a former child himself to paint an emotional landscape which is alternatelypoignant, shocking, witty, and furious.
In “Songs for the Cleveland Avenue Warrior,” Moore breaks the strangling troupeof the angry black man with the vulnerability of his message, the melody of hislanguage, and the passion for nurturing which is woven throughout the work.Written in three sections, in honor of ancestral gemetric wisdom, “Songs” is a timemachine, a critique on the present, and a piercing ray of hope which illuminates ourcollective humanity.
The Review
I absolutely loved this book. The collection brought such a harmonious tone to both the emotions each of these poems conveys with the narrative style of poetry the collection took on. Exploring life and the adversities he faced over his life, the poems did an amazing job of putting the reader into the author’s world and visualizing the experiences and accompanying emotions that came with those experiences.
The themes and representation that the author included in this book were perfect. The examination of race, class, and family set against the backdrop of the Chicago South Side was an inspired and heartfelt choice. The examination of our nation’s broken system and how it impacts various communities, in particular the Black Community, was perfectly represented here. Yet it was the way the author’s poems contradicted and erased the stereotypes often thrust upon the Black Community, especially young black men, that was so captivating and emotional to read.
The Verdict
A beautiful, thoughtful, and highly creative collection of poems, author Gary E. Moore’s “Songs For the Cleveland Avenue Warriors” is a must-read book. The imagery and honesty the author conveys in these poems and the way not only his own personal experiences impacted the narrative style poetry found within but how readers will be able to read into these poems was truly awe-inspiring. If you haven’t yet, be sure to grab your copy today!
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.
Author and poet Jonathan Koven explores the transformative journey that is life in his short book of poetry, “Palm Lines”.
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The Synopsis
These heartfelt poems speak to a transformative journey “to rediscover love as both a question and an answer.” Seeking hope, honoring family, finding love, accepting time’s passage, and understanding gratitude are all major themes explored in this dreamlike collection.
The Review
This was quite a powerful and emotionally-driven collection of poetry. The author and poet has done an amazing job of balancing the imagery used to conjure up memories of the past, present, and things yet to come with the more in-depth and personal emotional journey that is embedded into those memories. The way the author utilizes a more metaphysical narrative to explore the emotions of these poems really stood out from the rest of the other poetry books I’ve read, splitting up each section of the book into the Heart, Head, and Life Lines that goes typically into reading palms.
The poems themselves came across beautifully, perfectly capturing the raw emotions that the author poured into each verse. The poetry often read like a haunting melody or song, captivating the reader to live these memories for themselves and take on the feelings that they often invoked, as well as bringing to mind the shared experiences that people could relate with within this narrative, metaphysical poetry.
A breathtaking, heartfelt, and memorable read, author and poet Jonathan Koven’s “Palm Lines” is a must-read book of poetry. The way the author blends nature and metaphysical themes into the more personal narratives of the poems themselves really stood out in a positive way, making this book shine. If you haven’t yet, be sure to grab your copy today!
Rating: 10/10
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About the Author
Jonathan Koven grew up on Long Island, NY, embraced by tree-speak, tide’s rush, and the love and support of his family. He holds a BA in English and Creative Writing from American University, works as a technical writer, and is Toho Journal’s head fiction editor and workshop coordinator. He lives in Philadelphia with his best friend and future wife Delana, and cats Peanut Butter and Keebler. Read Jonathan’s debut chapbook Palm Lines, now available from Toho Publishing. His award-winning novella Below Torrential Hill is expected winter 2021 from Electric Eclectic. Find more of his short fiction and poetry in:
• American Literary [2012; spring 2013]
• Toho Journal [vol. 1, issue 2]
• Cathexis Northwest [May 2020]
• The Lindenwood Review [issue 10]
• Pub House Books’ Gravitas [vol. 19, issue 1]
• 25 Servings of SOOP [vol.1]
• Paragon Press’ Echo [issue 8]
• Night Picnic Press [June 2020]
• Assure Press’ Iris Literary [fall 2020]
• Black Mountain Press’ Halcyone Literary [vol. 3, issue 3]
• The Dewdrop [April 2021]
• The Dillydoun Review [April 2021]
• 300 Days of Sun [summer 2021]
• Grattan Street Press [fall 2021]
• Head & The Hand Press’ Hindsight is 2020 [fall 2021]
