Publication
REVIEW: Junk Shop Window: Essays on Myth, Life, and Literature by James J. Patterson in hippocamus magazine
When I picked up James J. Patterson’s lovely Junk Shop Window: Essays on Myth, Life, and Literature (Alan Squire Publishing 2023), I did not know that I had accepted an invitation to spend several hours with a wise and charming Muse. Patterson graciously welcomes us into his world and into his thoughts about our larger one. This…
Read MoreWe have to be Honest: An Interview with Kathryn Silver-Hajo in fractured
Wolfsong (ELJ Editions 2023), Kathryn Silver-Hajo’s first full-length publication, is a gorgeous hybrid collection of flash fiction and CNF stories capturing formative moments in girls’ and women’s lives. There is pain in these stories. And longing. There are bad decisions. But there is also a remarkable fierceness in these girls and women and a deep wisdom,…
Read MoreExploring Relationships Through Form: A Conversation with Jennifer Lang in Chicago Review of Books
Imagine putting your relationship under a microscope and then sharing what you’ve discovered with the world. That is exactly what Jennifer Lang has done in her memoir Places We Left Behind, and we are all the better for it. When American-born Lang, a secular tourist, falls in love with French-born Philippe, an observant immigrant, during the…
Read MoreLETTING IN THE LIGHT: A CONVERSATION WITH ANA MARIA SPAGNA In the rumpus
Ana Maria Spagna is a master at bringing the power and beauty of her beloved Pacific Northwest to the page. She is a four-time finalist for the Washington State Book Award, and in her latest book, the braided nonfiction narrative Pushed: Miners, a Merchant and (Maybe) a Massacre (Torrey House Press), she documents her investigative journey through the landscape…
Read MoreChronicling Loss—and Joy: An Interview with Jill Talbot about The Last Year: Essays in MER (Motherhood Literature & Art)
Sending a child off to college or out on her own is an important life passage for parents. While preparing a child to successfully “leave the nest” is the ultimate goal and at least one of the measures typically used to evaluate one’s effectiveness as a parent, that new stage can be felt as a…
Read MoreTHE IN-BETWEEN-NESS OF THINGS: AN INTERVIEW WITH DAVID GROFF in the Rumpus
During unsettled, unsettling times, we often look to poetry to make sense of chaos, to ground us, and to feel less alone. David Groff’s third book of poems, Live in Suspense (Trio House Press), is a wonderful place to turn. Read more
Read MoreHeavenly Bodies in Seven Parts by Diane Gottlieb in SugarSugarSalt Magazine
You want to matter. Everybody wants to matter. Physics and you were never best friends, but you know matter makes up the world. The table you’re sitting at, the chair, your notebook. Matter. Your whole body is matter, but how to matter? Is this aqua flair dress, these Rag & Bones jeans, this size ten, the measures…
Read MoreDiane Gottlieb Interview – The ScapeGoat Guild Podcast
Compelling author and editor Diane Gottlieb talks deep with us about resilience and loving others. Click to hear podcast
Read MoreA TIME TO SPEAK DIRECTLY: A CONVERSATION WITH JESSE LEE KERCHEVAL in the RUMPUS
What if someone offered you hard-earned wisdom about life? Would you listen? Jesse Lee Kercheval’s latest collection of poetry, I Want to Tell You: Poems (Pitt Poetry Series) is a gorgeous examination of grief, death, God, silence, place, and dogs. Kercheval’s “voicey voice” (her words) presses us to learn from her mistakes so we can be spared…
Read MoreTHE SPIRITUAL FACT OF OUR ONENESS: A CONVERSATION WITH CHARIF SHANAHAN interview in the Rumpus
THE SPIRITUAL FACT OF OUR ONENESS: A CONVERSATION WITH CHARIF SHANAHAN BY DIANE GOTTLIEB April 3rd, 2023 Charif Shanahan’s second poetry collection, Trace Evidence (Tin House, 2023) is a stunning tryptic that powerfully explores themes of mixed-race identity, time, mortality, and queer love. At the center of the collection is the poem, “On the Overnight from Agadir,” a…
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