“I often felt better off gone”
In addition to addressing themes related to living a creative life, the poems also delve into personal losses, struggles with addiction, and examinations of the circuitous paths we end up taking. Divided into three sections – “Folly Beach,” “The Venus Looking Glass,” and “Ancient Eye” – the collection offers up a vibrant cast of characters who influenced the speaker and ultimately helped him figure out who he wants to be. The poems in Magic Show are largely first-person, and Smith’s voice is accessible and inviting.
A moving testament to a parent’s love and the invaluable support of community
Grief is one of the great universal subjects of poetry, indeed, of all arts. The loss of a child is obviously one of the most tragic triggers of grief; if one is a parent, it’s almost unimaginable. and then is Bradley’s sequel to her collection a gift, which first related the story of her son Baeley’s death in 2024.
Poems are like herons
Roderick Deacey’s debut book is aptly titled. As the poet says in an introductory note, “Birds flew into these poems, sometimes merely as a mention, sometimes just a feather or two, sometimes swirling and tumbling across the sky for the pure joy of it.” Deacey beautifully communicates this joy to readers in these poems.
Even broken angels heal
In this collection, Gary uses formal poetry and vivid artistic imagery to transform fragmented memory into a coherent story of survival and healing. These forms provide a structure to memories that often come in waves, presenting fragments of sorrow and happiness. Gary’s poetry sings on every page.
“You forget I can regrow my fangs, charmer”
The vagaries of love—romantic, sexual, or platonic—are an eternal theme for poetry, but Katherine Gekker manages to bring fresh observations to the subject in her second collection, O My Charmer. By turns witty and angry, contented and fearful, the poems in this book are compelling as they chart various phases of a sometimes turbulent relationship. It’s good to have new work from this fine poet.
“She told me and I remember knowing”
Displacement, memory, raising a child in a new country—these are some of the themes that Burgi Zenhausern treats in her first full length collection, White Door. The fact that these fine poems were written in Zenhausern’s second language makes this achievement even more impressive.
“Where does tranquility exist?”
True Blue, while ostensibly a journey through the pandemic, in fact ranges widely through interiors (both physical and mental), nature and cities, and memories in search of those consolations.