Shearsman Books, 2020 Review by Hilary Sideris Mervyn Taylor’s most recent collection of poems is about contrasts and contradictions, as its title, Country of Warm Snow suggests. Taylor, who grew up (and spent the pandemic) in Trinidad, has lived in New York City for many years. He often crafts poems out of conversations, distilling the
Turning Point Press, 2022 Review by Lee Rossi “What is it then between us?” Walt Whitman asked his readers and, not wanting to keep them in suspense, answered immediately, “Whatever it is, it avails not—distance avails not, and place avails not.” Poet-historian Peter Neil Carroll might give the same answer. Like Whitman he is fascinated
New York Quarterly Books February, 2022, 124 pages, $18.95 ISBN: 978-1-63045-082-3 Review by Susana H. Case The pun in the title of Barry Wallenstein’s new and eleventh poetry collection, It’s About Time, is that of impending mortality, the diminution of the number of years left for vital living. “The cornucopia is no longer / overflowing”
Review by Diane Schenker Full confession before I begin—the basic passions and points of view winding through Elaine Sexton’s new book, Drive, are ones I share. I am a “person of a certain age.” I’m a dog person. I love driving. Driver training in high school was on automatic transmissions so I then had to
Review by Bertha Rogers To read D. Nurkse’s A Country of Strangers: New & Selected Poems is to walk the roads of never-ending war, the words illuminated by the light of whistling rockets or blown up by bombs. This collection, gathered from thirty-five years of his poems, tells the truth of war in lyrical language—how
Review by Fran Levin If a family member or friend wanted to invite you out for, say, a celebration birthday dinner at your favorite restaurant, you would probably know in advance what you planned to order and would anticipate enjoying some well-loved dishes. But if that person decided to surprise you with an outing to
Review by Stephanie Dickinson Chocolate Waters, the “unofficial Poet Laurette of Hell’s Kitchen,” has woven together poetry, prose, and photography to create a compelling memoir that commands our interest not only by the poet’s rich personal story, but by her historical perspective. In a prose time capsule we discover the young woman, who will become