The Bottle & the Book by J.L. Martindale & Daniel McGinn

(pb; 2015: limited-release poetry chapbook with CD)

Overall review:

All the works in this thirteen-poem chapbook are worth reading -- and publishing. All of them have at least one line that impressed or interested me, though a few stood out (see below). Its accompanying CD, with selective readings by the book authors, further bring these poems to aural, emotion-imbued life: worth purchasing, this. You can buy it here.


Standout poems:

1.) "Sometimes I breathe" (particularly the first/page two version of it) - Martindale and McGinn: Intense, not-quite-a-call-and-response recurrent/evolving work whose stifling desperation alternates with different-trip realities and sensibilities. This poem is effective in its display of relational futility, deafness and blindness.


2.) "Let Us Rebel Against the Inevitable" - Martindale: Multi-sensory vivid, feel-like-you're-there work.


3.) "Every Time It Rains" - McGinn: Soothing, interesting rebuttal to the image-intensive "Rewrite My Sorrow" (written by Martindale).


4.) "I Pull You With the Weeds" - Martindale: Sharp, era-specific, sad and darkly funny versework. This, as of this writing, is my favorite poem in this chapbook.

**One of my poems, Northward, (not so) thrilling, was published on the Leaves of Ink site

One of my mainstream poems, Northward, (not so) thrilling, was published on the Leaves of Ink site.

This autobiographical versework sketches out a long, dead-of-night and creepily tactile walk down a long road.

(Again, many thanks to editor E.S. Wynn for publishing the poems, which are set to appear in my 2016 follow-up book to Mondo febrifuge: omnibus poems.)

**An overview of J.L. Martindale's published works, 2010 - 2015

J.L. Martindale, whose In Sepia graced the Microstory A Week site in December 2010, has been published numerous times since then. These works include:

Two poems in the verse collection A Poet is a Poet No Matter How Tall: Poems by Poets of All Shapes and Sizes.

Waiting on Winter, an image-vivid, autumn-stark relationship poem, published on the Cadence Collective: Long Beach Poets site on December 1, 2013.

Simple Harmonic Motion, a music-and-sensuality piece, published on the Cadence Collective site on January 25, 2014.

Spliced, an emotionally-harsh versework highlighting booze and bitterness. The Cadence Collective site published this on February 24, 2014.

Beautiful, an aggressive-in-spirit take on notions of attractiveness, dark music and romance. The Cadence Collective site published this on March 12, 2014.

Cons in Prose: A How-to Guide, a clever, funny poem about reading at open mics. The Cadence Collective site published this on April 16, 2014.

Last Line Epiphanies, about being an aging, socially "respectable" punk, and the doubts that entails. The Cadence Collective site published this on May 23, 2014.

I Lie When We Lay, an emotionally-wracked piece about troubling, complicated bonds of intimacy. The Cadence Collective site published this on June 18, 2014.

No Afterlife for Garbage, with its straight take on our material objects. The Cadence Collective site published this on January 28, 2015.

Lovers like us and ghost towns, about the past and symbolic archeology. The Cadence Collective site published this on February 4, 2015.

Martindale co-authored a verseworks anthology (The Bottle & the Boot) with Daniel McGinn. This limited-release chapbook comes with a CD of selected readings from the book. You can purchase it here.

Three of her poems -- Afterbirth; Deliverance (Birth is a Violent Lover) and I Pull You with the Weeds --  was included in the jazz-enhanced spoken-word reading CD/download Prose, Rhythm and Noise: Muliebrity, Vol. 1, released in May 2015.  (One of Martindale's works, I Pull You with the Weeds, also appears in the aforementioned The Bottle & the Boot.)

One of her poems, Like a Dog, was included in the jazz-enhanced spoken-word reading CD/download, Prose, Rhythm and Noise: Muliebrity, Vol. 2, also released in May 2015.

**One of my poems, Marker (asterisk edit), was published on the Leaves of Ink site

One of my verseworks, Marker (asterisk edit), was published on the Leaves of Ink site.

This mainstream poem lists the lingering after-effects of a too-brief love affair. It is the third piece in the loosely linked First Love series, following Beyond a fearful door and The long-ago dreamt.

(Again, many thanks to editor E.S. Wynn for publishing the poems, which are set to appear in my 2016 follow-up book to Mondo febrifuge: omnibus poems.)

**One of my poems, The long-ago dreamt, was published on the Leaves of Ink site

One of my verseworks, The long-ago dreamt, was published on the Leaves of Ink site.

This mainstream poem details a half-remembered, half-dreamt afternoon in a not-quite-a-lover's embrace. It is the second piece in the loosely linked First Love series, following Beyond a fearful door and preceding Marker (asterisk edit).

(Again, many thanks to editor E.S. Wynn for publishing the poems, which are set to appear in my 2016 follow-up book to Mondo febrifuge: omnibus poems.)

**One of my erotic poems, The newest -- workweek blue, was published on the Pink Litter site

One of my erotic poems, The newest -- workweek blue, was published in the eighth issue of Pink Litter e-zine. It appears on page 35 (scroll down to read it).

This rock-sex-and-onanism versework sketches out the cop-a-hot-feel memories and solo desires of a young male wage slave who has little else going on his life. It is, as you probably guessed, a “for mature readers only” read.

(Again, big thanks to editor Misty Rampart for publishing the poem, which is set to appear in my 2016 follow-up book to Mondo febrifuge: omnibus poems.)

**One of my mainstream poems, Beyond a fearful door, was published on the Leaves of Ink site

Beyond a fearful door, one of my newer poems, was published on the Leaves of Ink site.

This verseworks charts the devastation -- and the beginnings of maturation -- that result from a California-themed romantic break-up. It is also a free-form piece that is loosely connected to two reworked (and soon to be published) poems The long-ago dreamt and Marker (asterisk edit), as well as the soon-to-be published story My First Love, in three confessional seasons.

(Again, many thanks to editor E.S. Wynn for publishing the poems, which are set to appear in my 2016 follow-up book to Mondo febrifuge: omnibus poems.)

**One of my mainstream poems, Disparate voices, was republished on the Leaves of Ink site

Disparate voices, one of my older and thematically cobbled-together poems, was republished on the Leaves of Ink site yesterday.

The poem, which shows four different viewpoints and time periods, centers around a mentally ill woman and how her erratic behavior affects those around her.

(Many thanks to editor E.S. Wynn for republishing the poem, which also appeared in my 2014 single-author poetry anthology Mondo febrifuge: omnibus poems.)

 

Rash Door by E.S. Wynn

(pb; 2012: poetry anthology)

Overall review:

Rash is an excellent poetry anthology, whose images, themes and works not only complement each other, but flow and weave themselves in a natural-order rhythm that deepened the sense of immersion I got while reading it.

Most of the poems revolve around addiction, loss (of one's self, of a romantic partner), Nature, regret and the process of recreation, whether it's through accepting one's flaws and darkish history, romance or writing. 

What's striking about this collection is that even the relatively few poems (out of an impressive sixty) that didn't grab me were appreciable, in the sense that I could see why they were included in Rash: not only were they solid or good, they also contributed to the aforementioned thematic-flow of the overall work. (In an anthology of this size, it's a near-impossibility -- at least for this reader -- for every poem to become a personal favorite.)

Rash is a superb, worth-owning verseworks collection. If you're interested in purchasing it, here's a link where you can do so.


Standout poems:

1.)  "AA": Emotive and highly visual work about breaking one's addiction, self-wounding and -- hopefully -- the renewal of being. Excellent piece.


2.)  "A Weekend": Relatable versework about the discombobulation one encounters (and slow-and-swift polarities) with the passing of two weekly days.


3.)  "Kissing a Smoker": Flavor- and sensory-intensive poem that aptly describes its titular experience.


4.)  "Hangover Morning": Liquid spirits, history, mythology and literature run in celebratory and long-lined fashion before an inevitable, oh-too-relatable finish. Delightful and wise piece.


5.)  "Sh*t in the Shower": Nightmarish, short and sharp work that details a necessary transformation. It put me in the mindset of David Cronenberg's body dismorphic films (Rabid, Shivers [a.k.a. They Came From Within], Videodrome and others). Yes, that is meant in a complimentary way.


6.)  "Dream Blindness": A strong visual sense of yearning forms this poem, with its desperate, driving flow and rhythms.


7.)  "Seawitch": Stark, stellar and startling work about different multi-layered things. Great end-line, one of my favorite poems in this collection. Part of it reads:

"Mom's van

Ancient maritime mistress

Dull blue, gull grey

Primer and seashells

 

Mermaids and Playa dust 

Greasy drippings under tattered mylar

Musty inside,

Like a forgotten seaside cabin. . .

 

A place to rest, to lay your head

And wait out the long cold night. . ."

8.)  "Rash Door": Horrific, darkly funny (with its end-lines) piece that reads like a companion piece to the desperate, sketchy "Sh*t in the Shower".


9.)  "Sterilize the Dance": Chilling, stark work revolving around lust, interpersonal evolution, terror and innocence. This is another favorite in the bunch poem.


10.)  "Colors": The ghost-hues of an old relationship impel a man to question his present leanings and choices with women. Especially good poem.


11.)  "Visionaries": The wild, imaginative-soar second half of this versework is wow-good.


12.)  "All Is Folly": Especially dark and effective work that succeeds on multiple reading levels.


13.)  "A Moment in Memory": Beautiful, Nature-appreciative piece, this: serene, wonderful.


14.)  "Midnight Rain": Urban, noir-drenched and femme-fatale-as-a-frame-theme poem that is especially striking.


15.)  "Only Silence": A strong sense of personal nothingness suffuses this -- excellent work.


16.)  "The Sculptor": I love this one, a piece about the making of a truly-alive being.


17.)  "Tattoo": Stark, short and sharp-stanza'd versework. This is an especially effective follow-up/counterpart piece to "The Sculptor".


18.)  "Must": Relatable (for a lot of guys, I'm guessing), blunt poem about women and their curious, sometimes (unintentionally) insulting choices.


19.)  "Rage II": Macho attitudes and overall dumbness, along with break-up-inspired bitterness, suffuse this oh-so-GRRRR piece.


20.)  "Visitation": Urban life and its resultant noises form this versework. This is a fitting companion piece to "Midnight Rain".


21.)  "American Wishes": Another woman-as-a-car poem. Especially good, effective read.


22.)  "My Pen Is A Prophet": Relatable-for-writers, theme- and image-tight piece.


23.)  "The Best Soil": Excellent versework with a biting, heart-ouch end stanza. One of my favorite poems in this collection.


24.)  "Artifice Of A (real) Poem": Cut-to-it poem that nails what's wrong and right about writing stanza'd works. Again, excellent.

**My latest poetry anthology, Mondo febrifuge: omnibus poems, was published today

I just published my second of two books this year - Mondo febrifuge: omnibus poems, which mixes older previous published (and reworked) mainstream verses with quite a few newer works penned within the past two years.

The poems are, per my usual style, rough and tumble free verse works that detail a tumultuous youth dealing with my own fictionalized dumbassery and growing up, a journey infused with the loving, often raw elements of familial discontent, religion, sex, horror films, heavy metal, nature (read: animals) and living in northern California and eastern Washington state.  While these poems are mainstream, many of them would sport hard R-ratings if they were films subjected to the MPAA film board.

Like Welcome to Horrorsex County: microstories, published earlier this autumn, it's a personal milestone book - a way for me to officially bid farewell to one phase of my writing and move onto the next, whatever its final form takes.

 Feel free to click on the above links if you (or anyone you know) would be interested in picking up the aforementioned books. They cost $9 or less (+s/h) apiece, and thanks for the support!

 (back cover of Mondo febrifuge)

**One of my mainstream poems Shred, gouge, fly was republished in Leaves of Ink ezine

One of my older mainstream poems, Shred, gouge, fly, was republished in the Leaves of Ink ezine on May 7th, 2014.  (Many thanks to editor Earl S. Wynn, a.k.a. E.S. Wynn, for this.)

This celebratory poem is about a writer whose appreciation for his current life and lover is enhanced by his acceptance and understanding about his past.  (Shred, gouge, fly was originally published in my 2011 single-author anthology Behind the wheel: selected poems.)

Check this poem out, if you're so inclined and have the time!

**One of my older poems, The return sidetrips, was published in Smashed Cat ezine

One of my older mainstream poems, The return sidetrips, was published in Smashed Cat ezine today.  (Again, gratitude goes to editor Earl S. Wynn, a.k.a. E.S. Wynn, for this.)

This poem, which details the lysergic William S. Burroughs-esque (and hopefully brief) madness of an apartment-bound writer, has not been published anywhere else, so check it out if you're so inclined!

Long Distance Drunks: A Tribute to Charles Bukowski, edited by Max Booth III

(pb; 2014: story and poetry anthology)


Overall review:

Long Distance Drunks is an excellent, appropriately toned and executed collection that pays homage to its titular inspiration.  Every story and poem in this twenty-two piece anthology has something to recommend it.  This book is worth owning, especially if you're a fan of Bukowski's work and legacy.


Standout stories:

1.)  "The Killers" - Eli Wilde:  Two lovers - a mechanic and his boss's daughter - break out of their horrible and monotonous wasteland existences.  Bleak, compelling.


2.)   "Heavenly Cure For a Dripping C*ck" - T. Fox Dunham:  Bodily fluids, raw emotions and explicit sex highlight this tale about a "cursed" bum seeking physical healing.  Especially good read.


3.)   "A Scarecrow Unlabeled" - William Barker:  Vivid poem about Bukowski's writing - and a small part of his legacy.


4.)   "Shackjob" - Brett Williams:  A drunk-bum writer (Chuck Becker) rambles between bars, women and crash pads.  This work has a charming, effectively vagrant feel to it.  One of my favorite pieces in this collection.


5.)   "Drowning Butterfly" - Gabino Inglesias:  Effectively-Bukowski-esque piece about a struggling wandering author whose encounter with an eerie beach woman proves to be tender, dark and beautiful.  One of my favorite pieces in this collection.


6.)   "Zero" - S. MacLeod: An ex-junkie hooker comes up with a flawed pan to improve her circumstances.  Memorable finish to this one.


7.)   "Without Face" - Michael Bailey:  Time-fractured, hallucinatory tale about a man (Saul Pravat) dealing with the bloody fallout of indulging in a mystery drug.  Interesting work.


8.)   "Behind the Bar" - Will Viharo:  Raunchy, sometimes poetic and often hilarious dialogue highlights this story about a movie star (Mick - as in Mickey Rourke) and a famous author (Chuck - as in Charles Bukowski, whom Mick played in the 1987 film Barfly).  These two characters drink, fight and philosophize a bit.  One of my favorite pieces in this anthology.


9.)   "The Other Kind of Workshop" - Jacob Haddon:  This poem colorfully - in Bukowski-esque style - describes writers' realities.  Good poem, no wasted words in it and it flows well.


10.)   "Turk and Taylor" - Tom Pitts:  Excellent and sometimes creepy piece about a junkie trying to find the best place to fix.  Memorable work.


11.)   "Herniated Roots" - Richard Thomas:  An affair takes on dark, mysterious and perversely life-affirming aspects.


12.)   "Bukowski" - Justin Hyde:  Especially good, word-spare versework about its titular character.

**One of my poems, Ephemeral, was republished in Leaves of Ink ezine

One of my older mainstream verseworks, Ephemeral, was published in the Leaves of Ink ezine today.  (Many thanks to editor Earl S. Wynn, a.k.a. E.S. Wynn, for this.)

This poem is about a man who misses hanging out with his ex-fiancée's imaginative son.  (Ephemeral was originally published in my 2011 single-author anthology Behind the wheel: selected poems under the title Ephemeral stepfather.)

Check this poem out!

**Two of my poems were published in Stormcloud Poets: First Anthology

Two of my poems - advent and 415 vista reunion - were published in Stormcloud Poets: First Anthology.  advent  is about the aftermath of a friend's death; 415 vista reunion is about the joy of hanging out with another friend after a long time apart.

Thanks, once again, to editor/author E.S. Wynn (a.k.a. Earl S. Wynn) for including my work in his 136-page poetry collection - it's an honor to work with such an accomplished and inspiring word-conjurer. 

Stormclouds Poets: First Anthology purchase links are here, for its various publishing formats - electronic and hard copy.

Lady Lack, by Misty Rampart

(pb; 2012: erotic poetry mini-anthology)


Overall review:

Lady Lack is a fifteen-page, excellent raunch-and-romance verse anthology, from its tell-don't-show pieces (e.g., "Puritanical Theories") to its visually-better pieces (see below) and its multipart mini-epics ("Fairy Tales").  Rampart, with engaging ease, pulled me into her thought-provoking work, whether she was blurring and challenging the lines of what (inherently) constitutes kink, how gender roles and carnal history really "mark" us as individuals, etc.

I didn't love every poem in this super-short collection, but every poem had some element - a line, a notion, a tone, whatever - that drew me in, sometimes challenged my outlook, and - more importantly - stuck  with me, as a reader.

Superb verse anthology, this - one of my all-time favorites, as of this writing.


Standout poems:

1.)   "Hallulejah Roughrider": Good visuals in this one.  This intense, effective poem contrasts the truth of a woman's sexual identity and desires versus her lover-perceived self and history. 


2.)   "It":  One of my favorite poems in this mini-anthology.  Swinging takes a toll on a couple - the last line caps the poem up with a stunning visual.


3.)   "Scar Tissue":  Sad-hued, semi-emotive revealing of a kink-minded and troubled sexual relationship.  Was immediately immersed in this one.


4.)   "Heart on a Chain":  A woman's erotic devotion to her man - and vice-versa - conjures deeper, (possibly) ambivalent wonderings.  Striking end-line to this.


5.)   "Over the rainbow":  Excellent poem about romance and raunchy familiarity with a lover.  This is also one of my favorite poems in this collection, with some especially standout lines ("You are meat muscle magic without the / music. / You are a throbbing holiday, / a celebration.")


6.)   "China Doll":  Headrush-style write, merging rough sex and art.


7.)   "The King Arises":  Shakespeare-referencing take on the (possible) cause and effect of lust and death.


8.)   "Pink Litter":  Lust takes an especially dark and line-scattered turn.


9.)   "The way of the world":  The thrill of the new, and relative monogamy - enjoyable or not - are tested and reinforced.  Incisive, effective.

Stately Speaking: Poems, by Thomas Michael McDade

(poetry chapbook; 2010 - published by Secession Press / smitherie@gmail.com)

Review:

McDade's loquacious but focused tale-poems (each one representing one of the fifty-one states) revolve around longtime friendships, military life/war, classic cars from the '50s and '60s, country music, bars, horse racing and baseball, and beautiful, spirited women.

His free-form verses demand, in a gruff-affectionate tone, that readers immerse themselves in his story-spinning words, something McDade makes easy to do, via mind-branding images, natural-sounding "voice" and references to American historical events that reveal not only a life fully realized with its shocking vagaries, but a country growing into a wildly different state of being, e.g., "A Railroad Night Like Robes":

It was nearly Christmas when boot camp was over,
1963 and Kennedy dead.
A song by a French nun, high on the charts,
piped through the coach often enough
to make you suspect Berlitz was lumped into the fare.
Dominique, nique, nique
S'en allait tout simplement
I chewed Dentyne in case a woman sat next to me,
wondered how long before my hair would grow back.
My face didn't feel like my own
from dry shaving peach fuzz
the Navy found as objectionable as a beard to the deck
Dominic, oh, Dominic
Over the land he plods along
sang a smartass with a hairdo like Elvis
into a cup that surely held more than java. . .

Like most poetry anthologies, this isn't a book you plow through - it's something you savor, steadily, over time, if the poets in question have done their job properly, and McDade has surely done that, with work that has given me new, loftier elements to shoot for when I write: mixing nostalgia, romanticism, hard experience and pragmatism into a delectable blend of excellent, gripping tales that not only define the poet, but his (or her) epochal - yet universal - experiences.

Worth owning, this.

The Jewel in the Moment, by Richard Cody

(pb; 2009: poem anthology)

Review:

The Jewel in the Moment is one of my all-time favorite poetry anthologies. Admittedly, Cody's themes and preference for wry, succinct writing and "haikuish" often align with my own penned leanings, a factor that imbued my reading of his exceptional, cut-to-it versifying with a damn-near-halo-esque glow.

There were a few pieces here and there that I didn't entirely relate to (that's unavoidable with any poetry or story collection), but these pieces were still worth publishing, considering Cody's able takes on the subjects - there's not a meh work in the bunch, which is rare in anthologies, no matter how excellent.

Cody's themed pieces run along these lines: Big Sur, the blues ("For Skip James"), a family tragedy, insomnia, people and animals in urban and forest settings, quirk-ish humor, San Francisco and the brevity of one's youth.

"Here's a taste" - to use a Stephen Colbert phrase - of Cody's work:

Walking home tonight,

scent of jasmine, in the lot

a burst of sparrows!

and:

Old man with a leash -

at the other end a boy

kicking windfall nuts.

If you're into micro-form poetry, make this book your next purchase. It's that wonderful. I don't keep many books, because I don't have a lot of space to store my pop culture and published treasure, but I intend to keep this one.

From the Psycho Ward Level 1 Critical, by Howard Yosha

(pb; 2010: poem anthology/chapbook, sort of)

From the back cover:

"From the Psycho Ward Level 1 Critical is the 7th chapbook of poetry written by Howard Yosha. During 2009 and 2010 Howard ran the 1/2 Marathon in Orange County, California. Became paralyzed with Cauda Equina, had stays in 3 hospitals, 3 ambulance rides, when to rehab hospital and the Psycho Ward Level 1 Critical. Many of these poems were written from the hospital bed."

Review:

Psycho Ward is best read as an experimental scrap book, an uneven mix of paintings, photos, journal entries and poems. Readers approaching this anthology, as I initially did, as a straightforward poetry chapbook, may be disappointed, even dismayed by it, especially after paying thirty bucks for it(self-publishing a book with color photos and artwork is expensive, something Psycho Ward's price likely reflects).

I'll start with what I didn't like about the anthology, so I can end the review on a positive, balance-all-elements note.

Psycho Ward, with its self-conscious/convert-zeal tone, has too much dry-medical fact telling, not enough showing, flaws that are exacerbated by Yosha's constant referencing of his name (referencing oneself once, maybe twice in an anthology works; anything beyond that either reads as Amateur Hour Writing, satire or grand-standing). To be fair, the didactic, adhere-to-explicit names and facts tone of Psycho Ward does potently reflect the anger, terror, resultant activism and spiritual enlightenment of Yosha's experiences.

Approximately half of the twenty-six pieces in this anthology read like writing exercises or plot summations for works that need to be fleshed out, built upon with images and other sensory information, e.g. "30 Day Psychiatric Exercise - I Am Thankful for my parents", which while undoubtedly sincere, and experimental/different, fails as a poem: while I admire Yosha for his willingness to be open to different styles and formatting, this was too dry and generic - there was no personality to this, no sense of him, nor of his parents. Unless he was structure-referencing a self-help or religious mantra, this shouldn't have been included in Psycho Ward.

The same goes for "Fight for your life", which, while reinforcing (and building upon, a little bit) previous poems, isn't diverse enough in its language to justify - for this reader - it being included in the book; as it is, it reads like a repetitive work, not a theme-progressive work.

Yosha clearly has intensity and drive, as well as the aforementioned willingness to try new forms, but the mix-and-match format of Psycho Ward, if this is where his headspace and current work resides, does little to recommend him at this juncture; that said, there are flashes of good, even excellent writing in this anthology.

I am referring only to his writing, by the way. His artwork and photos are good to this non-painter/-photographer's eyes, but, on a practical pricing level, it might bode better for Yosha's sales if he cut down on how many photos and paintings he put into anthologies - at least for now, until someone else is footing the bill, paying him, for his collections.

What I also liked about Psycho Ward are works like the theme-progressive and -different, as well as playful "In Jerusalem", which, in its entirety, reads:

"Three blind mice now see

After a miracle Hokey, Pokey and Jokey

Crossed the street, losing their mind

In Jerusalem they became Jesus, Mary and Joseph"


These theme-evolving not-quite-asides, many of which arrive in the second half of the anthology, show Yosha's talent, unmarred by his experimental lack of editing.

Other standout poems that I enjoyed:

"Journal Mining" - Good use of free-form flow and imagery; reads naturally, without obtrusive medical references or preaching.

"The Survivors" - This sports the same virtues as "Journal Mining".

"Do you want to get married for 99 cents" - Silly, playful, smile-inducing goofiness.

"The Great Depression or, The Second Great Depression" - Intense burst of poetic outrage, and a good snapshot of America's present-day politics.

"Manic episode where I wanted to change my name from Yosha to Joshua" - Reader-engaging hospital tale-verse.

"Jesus Definition" - Interesting, different piece; great exit line.

"Psy Lauren" - Alliterative poem, effective in its humor.

"Devil Bloom" - Excellent flow and imagery to this.

"The Church of Me" - Good language and flow in this one; this anthology capper has a fitting finish, poetic summation and progression of the anthology's self-improvement theme.

What it comes down to is this: at least half of Psycho Ward's poems should have been cut from the book, to be edited (or melded) into better, show-don't-tell pieces - and Yosha's talent-shine pieces, the ones that worked, should have been formatted as a section, perhaps sporting this anthology's title, in a larger and better-edited anthology.

That Yosha has talent, I have no doubt; I also believe - hope - that Yosha's other six books reflect that fervid talent, and, as he grows (as an artist and a man), he'll find his voice, natural and unfettered by the flaws I've mentioned in this stinging but constructive review.

While I can't recommend Psycho Ward for its print price and flaws, I can recommend that you keep an eye out for Howard Yosha as an artist in future books and (possibly) art shows.

For e-book readers: Psycho Ward is also available as an e-book, for $6.49

Remainder of a Thursday Afternoon by John Eivaz

(pb; 2007: poetry chapbook/anthology)

Review:

John Eivaz is one of my all-time favorite poets: his love-it-or-hate-it work reads like intuitive-flow versifying, littered with look-away-&-you-miss-it sly wordplay, truly original (sometimes startling) line-crafting, and a regular emotive potency that eludes so many poets - myself included.

Being a more literal person, I don't always know what he's specifically writing about (his natural veers into abstraction sometimes blur the layers between concrete visuals/ideas and an impressed wow!), but the words he utilizes are sharply realized, and the mood(s) of his verses are effective, pervasive.

Eivaz, a poet's poet, is what I want to be, when I become the best poet I can be - a writer whose voice works, is distinctive, even if the (occasional) poem is merely okay, not great.

All of the nineteen poems in this mainstream anthology drew me in, some more than others, e.g., "Exodus" (a great anthology exit poem):

". . . where breath thins and bodies become beautifully hollow

"where this journey is a mourn against our stars
no more our fall slows until finally we drop
in on the next world
young again the light hurts our eyes"


Other standout poems include: "sunday drive"; "the railroad follows the river"; "My Home Town" and "Sonnet" (with their auras of abstraction and romance); "implied mantis foma" (with its strong visual metaphors); "Moth"; "poem found in an imaginary sort-of flemish painting" and "the first few minutes of mahler's ninth first movement".

Remainders of a Thursday Afternoon doesn't include many of my favorite works by him - multi-genre, lust and love transcendant work that I've been reading over the course of twelve years within a mutual writing group, Erotica Readers & Writers Association - but it is a solid worth-purchasing mainstream introduction to his consistently amazing, inked visions.