Collected in celebration of National Poetry Month are book reviews and interviews I’ve written and conducted over the past couple of years. For more books written by women use the wonderful #ReadWomen2014
♥ Green-Wood by Allison Cobb
Through insightful and juxtapositional revealing of underrepresented or buried facts, Cobb brings to us not a judgement, but an opportunity. “Poetry Micro-Review: Green-Wood by Allison Cobb” via MoonSpit Poetry
♥ Animal Eye by Paisley Rekdal
“A Small, Soul-Colored Thing” taught me poetic integrity: the opportunity of launching one’s memory into the middle of factual misunderstanding or misremembering and unstability as the point of being witness to trauma. This poem has a reliable narrator who questions and corrects herself, she does not live in surreality, she is human. “‘Of Perspective and Perception': An Interview with Paisley Rekdal” via The Library of Congress, Poetry & Literature with notes and background via MoonSpit Poetry.
♥ Manhater by Danielle Pafunda with discussion of her essay “Meat Life” from Beauty is a Verb: The New Poetics of Disability
A Plath-descendant, Pafunda’s speakers’ polemic attitudes build a cage around opponents’ gazes. “Danielle Pafunda and the Manhater” via So to Speak: A Feminist Journal of Language and Art‘s blog.
♥ The Shape of Blue by Liz Scheid
Written in lyric and forthright prose, this collection reminds us to appreciate and move through fear with love to move forward with open hearts. “The Shape of Blue: Interview with Writer Liz Scheid” via MoonSpit Poetry.
♥ Arco Iris by Sarah Vap
Through traveling we learn to love the confusion as a part of the learning…. Like every great book, readers should be asked to reevaluate how we treat those around us, no matter the situation. Arco Iris asks us to reevaluate and encourages us to become more empathetic, especially when it comes to participating in other cultures. “Book Review: Arco Iris by Sarah Vap” via So to Speak: A Feminist Journal of Language and Art‘s blog.
♥ The Healthy Ancestor: Embodied Inequality and the Revitalization of Native Hawai’ian Health by Juliet McMullin
“Me he lau no ke ko’olau ke aloha,”which translates to Love is like the ends (fingertips) of the Ko`olau breeze. Love is like a zephyr, gentle and invisible but present nevertheless. “The Mission” via The Library of Congress, Poetry & Literature.
♥ Hibernaculum by Sarah Colona
Here we begin to uncover what slinks into our rooms after all the lights are turned out, and enter a ramping toward the surreal. “Hibernaculum: Dissecting Story and Fable like an Animal” via So to Speak: A Feminist Journal of Language and Art‘s blog.
♥ A Visit from the Good Squad by Jennifer Egan
Coming from a book that is surrounded by the idea of living extremely, dying young or dying in pain, or making that final comeback into glory, time does seem like a hired thug either for your demise or protection. “Time is No Goon for Jennifer Egan” via So to Speak: A Feminist Journal of Language and Art‘s blog.
You might also be interested in “Quick List of Poetry Collections to Satiate Your Feminist Brains.”
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