These poems contain that feeling of inevitability only possible in retrospect. The poet is in control as she reflects on a failed marriage and its accoutrements; for example, when she asks in “Attar”: “What can one do, / when one... Read More

This book is as much about paying respects as it is about forging ahead—an ideal combination for a debut collection. The author adds grains of literary wisdom to accompany her own brand, which is more of the homegrown variety. She... Read More

This collection of poems demonstrates how creative restrictions are not always drawbacks. The poet’s first section, “Tambourine,” adheres to pi mnemonics: the number of letters in each word must match the digits of pi. (For... Read More

This poet writes like a woman with a mission. Her collection resounds with an honesty that is at once brutal and determined. “You will not go hungry into a strange soil,” she writes to her jaundiced infant. A stirring proclamation,... Read More

This book is held together, curiously, by scissors. Scissors are the weapon of choice for the characters presiding in this collection of stories-although fountain pens, knives, and curses are also popular. But why shouldn’t scissors be... Read More