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Recuperating a Legacy: 32 Poems/ 32 Poemas by Hyam Plutzik

July 11, 2022 - By Aitor Bouso Gavín

Hyam Plutzik's 32 Poems/ 32 Poemas (Suburbano Ediciones, 2022)

32 Poems/ 32 Poemas (2021) is a fully bilingual (Spanish and English) collection of selected poems by the twentieth-century American poet Hyam Plutzik (1911-1962). The three-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in poetry was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Jewish immigrant parents from Belarus. Plutzik, who was a Professor of English at the University of Rochester until his premature death in 1962, grew up in a non-anglophone household, where Russian, Hebrew, and Yiddish were the languages spoken. Plutzik did not learn English until he attended grammar school in a schoolhouse in Connecticut. His...

Florida Beach 4-Pack #2

July 8, 2022 - By Marsha Bryant

Barque of phosphor
On the palmy beach…
—Wallace Stevens, “Fabliau of Florida”

The summer is now getting hotter,
But your beach beer need not taste like water!
Here are Florida brews
I’ve selected for you
To pursue as a beach blanket squatter.

My recs make a 4-pack and flight,
So I’ve fashioned my sequence just right:
From lager to Tripel,
These sippable tipples
Will brighten your mouth with delight.

1
Let’s begin with this lager, Tates Helles.
From the Big Bend it hails to embellish
Its pale golden drops
With a kiss of the hops.
It pours clear, this crisp beer that refreshes.

2
A...

A Matter of Control

May 24, 2022 - By DeMisty D. Bellinger

Toxic relationships abound in Cherish Farrah, but the rub is not knowing which relationship to watch out for. Bethany C. Morrow’s second novel for adults addresses classism and racism, as well as families and friendships. It’s a slow burn from page one and ends in discomfort for all.

Like Mem, Morrow’s first novel, Cherish Farrah is beautifully written, with poetic language and passages full of vivid, intricate imagery. Unlike Mem, her newest novel puts race in the forefront. Cherish and Farrah are two Black teenage girls in a predominately white and very wealthy neighborhood. Cherish’s parents, Jerry and...

The Birth of an Author

May 7, 2022 - By Michael Thurston

A Review of Hank Drossel. Item: Regarding the Basilisk. SYOM Press, 2022. ix+187 pp.

Hank Drossel worked for decades as the travel agent and logistics manager for various arts institutions, especially music ensembles. From a perch at Eastern Airlines, he supported Cold War-era “hearts and minds” tours: avant-garde artists and groups performing American freedom for audiences behind the Iron Curtain. When both the Cold War and Eastern fell to the global domination of finance capitalism, Drossel worked freelance for art collectives, small orchestras, and early music ensembles, overseeing travel arrangements, venue bookings, contract riders, and the packing and transportation of priceless instruments. He often traveled with his clients to make sure that musicians...

Florida Beach 4-Pack #1

April 10, 2022 - By Marsha Bryant

There will never be an end
To this droning of the surf.
—Wallace Stevens, “Fabliau of Florida”

As Spring breakers, vacationers, snowbirds
Hit the beaches of Florida, these words
In my limericks here
Are to recommend beers
For your forthcoming excursions seaward.

From the Gulf and Atlantic-side makers
Of craft brews that pair well with breakers
(And the sunshine and shore),
I’ve selected these four
For all bona fide beach beer partakers.

1

Beach Blonde Ale, an approachable brew,
Is a beach blanket starter for you.
And a tease of the tang
In its finish will hang
On the tip of your tongue. Citrine hued.

2

When the ocean’s your...