Poetry of Transcendence

Poetry of Transcendence

Killing Orpheus By Forester McClatchey. Carnegie Mellon University Press, 2026. Paperback, 88 pages, $20. Reviewed by Camilo Peralta.  Might a revival of our degraded culture, or at least its verse, be possible? A recent collection titled Killing Orpheus from Forester...
The Innocence of Imagination

The Innocence of Imagination

Awake! William Blake and the Power of the Imagination By Mark Vernon Hurst, 2025. Hardcover, 312 pages, $37.99. Reviewed by Paul Krause. William Blake’s name is synonymous with mad genius. In his time, as in ours, he had a reputation for being a crazy...
A Forgotten Russian Immigrant Poet in Hollywood

A Forgotten Russian Immigrant Poet in Hollywood

Sidetracked: Exile in Hollywood By Alexander Voloshin. Translated by Boris Dralyuk. Paul Dry Books, 2026. Paperback, 98 pages, $17.95. Reviewed by Nadya Williams. When my oldest son was little, every Saturday morning I would bundle him into the car for the hour and a...
In Praise of Poetry and Form

In Praise of Poetry and Form

The Great Game: Essays on Poetics  By Amit Majmudar.  Acre Books, 2024. Paperback, 288 pages, $18. Reviewed by Steven Knepper. Literature, Amit Majmudar warns, must never plod: “Plodding prose, plodding thought, rhythmless lifeless stuff you can’t step to: that’s...
No Seed Which Dies Remains Alone

No Seed Which Dies Remains Alone

The Locust Years  By Paul J. Pastor. Wiseblood Books, 2025. Paperback, 129 pages, $20. Reviewed by Sarah Reardon. “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.”...