Mondegreen, poems by Mike McNamara, 2022, $9.72
Praise for Mondegreen “These poems push thought through pen to page, eschewing, as they do, the indulgence of using poetry as a juggernaut for descriptive writing. Mike McNamara lays out what sustains his life with fi rm sensitivity; with deep commitment; with unswerving dedication to what confronts him: joys, demons, spectres of loss, the richness he finds in film, literature and music.” -Ric Hool “Nobody else writes like Mike McNamara about the human soul. These lyrical, visionary poems strive to make sense of that space between the outside world and the world in our heads, and how hard it can be to navigate both at the same time. The magnificent title poem ‘Mondegreen’ recalls extraordinary and painful episodes from the poet’s past: drunken days, a little girl laughing in a sunhat ‘oblivious to her tainted bloodline of full-blown psychosis’, a hellish late-night train ride in the company of a ‘pock-marked, demonic, drink-crazed devil’, interspersed with snatches from old diaries. A ‘mondegreen’ is a misheard lyric, and throughout the book McNamara plays with dream, memory and perception, with the idea that life is all misheard, misunderstood, both real and unreal at once. There is a sense of bewilderment here that feels far more genuine than any factual authority: the only way to comprehend life’s mystery is to accept that we can never understand it.” -Anna Lewis About the Author Mike McNamara was born in Ireland but lives in South Wales. He had his Selected Poems: Overhearing The Incoherent published by Grevatt and Grevatt in 1997. His poems have appeared in Acumen, The Atlanta Review, Orbis, International Times, October Hill, The New Welsh Review, Tears in the Fence, and more. His e-book, This Transmission, was published in October 2019 by The Argotist Online. His print book Dialling A Starless Past was published by Arenig Press in December 2019, and his most recent collection Loose Canon was published in July 2020 by Canada’s Subterranean Blue Poetry. |
Critters, poems by Joel Glickman, 2022, $16.99
Praise for Critters "Whether prowling the fringes of everyday life like dreams or leaping onto center stage, Glickman’s animals are resplendent, often heart-breaking, and his elegant, well-traveled poems shimmer with verbal surprises, sneaky epiphanies, and profound empathy for all creatures, including humans. Traveling Glickman’s roads and streams with him as a trusty guide means falling in love with his diverse, unforgettable animal companions, bearing witness to the meanings of their lives, as well we should, being citizens of Earth. This is a book you will treasure.” -Cynthia Belmont “One of the best things to come out of the 20th century is our increasing love and respect for the non-human natural world. Joel Glickman’s ‘Critters’ is a fi ne example of that love and respect. Whether writing about the beloved family dog or fi erce wild animals Glickman comes to us with clean diction, comprehensible syntax, and the tone of an intelligent, sensitive, and compassionate heart. In none of these poems does he seem interested in puzzling us to show how clever he is or how benighted we are. He acknowledges the too often forgotten truth that we are all poets and that we should courteously address one another in a language that requires no sophisticated translation. In Joel Glickman’s ‘Critters’ we are in the best and fi nest company.” - Lee Merrill About the Author Joel Glickman is Professor Emeritus of Music at Northland College where he continues to teach music, including jazz studies, part time. He is a previous contributor of poems to Aji Magazine and several other publications. Other endeavors include those of singer-song writer, banjo player, clarinetist, fisherman. He lives in Ashland, Wisconsin with his wife Susan and their bichon, Madeline. |