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Saturday, December 01, 2018

Tamaracks: Poetry Edited by James Deahl

Poetry often presents tiny glimpses into the honest, raw, and, sometimes painful, aspects of life, inviting readers to take a look inside a writer’s thoughts and relive their most vivid memories alongside them.  The first book of its kind for decades, Tamaracks: Canadian Poetry For the 21st Century contains poems that offer descriptive biographical and bibliographical information on the wide array of Canadian writers featured.  Commonly expressed topics in the collection include heavy-hitting subject matter, such as Canadian involvement in past wars, losing family members to tragic events, and staying faithful to God during pressing times.  Poems like Ian McCulloch’s “Poppa” - I listened for some echo of the concussion that had pressed him, still only a boy, into a premature and crowded grave - remind us of the thin line that separates life from death, while others, such as Joseph A. Farina’s “Morning Essence” - The sun has not risen, the darkness still owns us outside in the pre-dawn, spirits are waiting, I hear them like music stirring my soul - emphasize the importance of anticipating the blessings that await us even in the midst of tragedy and devastation.  Highlighting the works of 113 Canadian poets, this contemporary anthology of poetry successfully paints a complete picture of life in all its forms, giving light to untold stories that reveal the barest of human emotion.     

 

 ------ Allison Hastings

 Allison Hastings is a freshman at Endicott College in Beverly, MA, working towards her bachelor's in English/Creative Writing. On campus she is involved in Pep Band and two writing clubs: Her Campus, which is an online magazine targeted towards the female college student demographic, and the Endicott Review, which publishes a collection of student's writing and artwork every spring.

The Sunday Poet: Ed Meek



Ed Meek is the author of the poetry collections "Spy Pond" and  "What We Love." He also has a collection of short stories out titled, "Luck."



Idling

He was good with his hands;
my father could fix
a leaky faucet or
a squeaky hinge.
He’d take on projects
whenever he’d visit—
he always brought his tools
in the trunk of his car.
He liked to keep them handy
in case the dishwasher
refused to start
or the wires crossed in a lamp
or a screen slider
slid off the track.
He tried to teach me
how to wield a wrench
and I was happy to crawl
beneath a car
to replace the shoes,
or hover over an engine
and with his guiding hand
adjust the idle
but my mind
was always
elsewhere thinking
of Holden’s phonies
or Nick’s river
or Emily’s eternity
and the way
words sounded
when you put them together
and turned them over
in your mind.

Friday, November 30, 2018

Somerville, MA. Poet Laureate Gloria Mindock wraps up her two years at the post

( Gloria Mindock in back)

 Below is a link to a short conversation I had with Mindock at the Cervena Barva Press studio at the Arts Armory in Somerville.



https://archive.org/details/ibbetsonpress_msn_GM

Monday, November 26, 2018

Ibbetson Street 44 Table of Contents


Glad that Emily Pineau, our managing editor for this issue released the Table of Contents for Ibbetson Street 44--there maybe be some corrections, additions--but this is basically it. We hope to have the issue out late in December...


CONTENTS



EVENTIDE, DEEP IN THE RIVER OF GRASS 1
Michael Ansara

LA TÊTE 2

Krikor Der Hohannesian


IN THE BEEN WARD 3
Bridget Seley-Galway

MY BOOK. 3
Ted Kooser

AGGRESSIVE MEMORIES 4
Marge Piercy

WHAT WE DO NOT SEEK 4

Robert K. Johnson

WHEN THE BORDER PATROL AGENT SLEEPS 5
Mary Buchinger

HOUSE ARREST 6
Dennis Daly

TREASURES 6
Tom Miller

SKY MYTHS 6
Dorian Brooks

BETWEEN MY FINGERS LIKE A SHIELD 7
Elizabeth S. Wolf

DISSOLVED 8

Sandra L. Wyllie

ACCUSATION 8

Beatriz Alba del Rio

STILL LIFE 9

Brendan Galvin

THE CHOSEN, FUKUSHIMA DAIICHI, 2011 10
Ann McCrea


WAITING ROOM 10
Priscilla Turner Spada

FOR ALL MY FRIENDS WHO HAVE MOVED ON 11
Steven M. Smith

IT’S COME TO THIS 12
David P. Miller

BOWMAN’S BEACH 13
Lisa Sullivan

THE MEASURE 13
Anna Cates

DRIVING A POEM 14

Harris Gardner

HOW TO WRITE 14
Pui Ying Wong

MY NEIGHBOR’S FLAG STILL FLIES 15

Bert Stern

WE SHOULD JUST KISS LIKE REAL PEOPLE DO 16

Hunter Gillis

REMEMBERING SAM CORNISH 17
Essay by Doug Holder

THE MUSIC 19

Llyn Clague

FISHING IN THE FALL 20

Ed Meek

GRANDFATHER TOLD 21
Molly Mattfield Bennett

VISITING MY PARENTS’ GRAVES IN DENVER 22
Wendy Drexler

MISSING PERSON 23
Rebecca Yancey

ALMOST OVERNIGHT IN TUAM 23

Marge Piercy


HACK 24
Nina Rubinstein Alonso

LONELINESS 25

Carla Schwartz

HOW I GOT OVER 26
Kathleen Spivack

AUNT JESSIE DIES AT 103 27
Sandra Kohler

COMING HOME 28
Linda M. Fischer

NAKED ISLE 29
Zara Raab

GIVEN 30
Owen Doyle

CROSSING OVER 32
Robert J. Clawson

THE CAVE OF MACHPELAH 33
Keith Tornheim

THE SECRET SIN 34

David L. Arnett

HYPATIA OF ALEXANDRIA 35

Marc Jampole

ADVICE FROM A PRO 36
X.J. Kennedy

SCHRUNS WHERE THEY CAME TO SKI 37

Jo Carney


BROKEN MIRROR 38
Sandra Thaxter

WILLIE SHARES HIS LATEST FURUTE WITH HIS SUPPORT GROUP 39
Tomas O’Leary

QUEENS BOULEVARD 40

Tim Suermondt


THE SCULPTURE EXHIBIT 41
Lainie Senechal