Matthew Holmay, an English professor, tries to help Billy Brand, a schizophrenic student, but soon their friendship threatens his relationship with his nine-year-old daughter

Billy Brazil

Literature & Fiction

DeGrazia, Emilio

United States

New Rivers Press

“I once asked my dental hygienist what the white teeth inside wide smiles say about the meaning of life.” – from Jackal-Heads and Holidays – from author and retired columnist for the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Jim Klobuchar: Emilio DeGrazia is one of those writers who loves the ambience of a writers' gathering––the fraternity, the probing of ideas––whether the subject is poetry or the jock strap empire of sports. What I can tell you is that not many people I've read, whether in Minnesota or beyond, write of the human condition with the same mixture of discovery, forgiveness and judgment that Emilio brings from his study. Years ago a small group of us, at the prodding of the toastmaster, were asked to identify three or four people who would be our choice if we were marooned on a desert highland and had to spend foreseeable months or years listening to each other. My first choice was Emilio. I never tire of hearing what this man has to say about the humanity around him.

Eye Shadow

Politics & Social Sciences

Philosophy

Rocket Science Press

Perhaps I have a need for much rougher prose or poetry than I had been anticipating. I’ve been wanting to write something jewel-like, but maybe what I want isn’t exactly the point. The hatchet sank into my knee. My hands were numb from the vibrations of peeling the bark from oak fence posts all day long. First I crouched from the pain, then when I stood up I was so dizzy. It was a beautiful evening in summer. A weightless sky. A light yellow, indistinct sun, a washed-out blue and my lover didn’t want to stop what he was doing up on the hill in order to help. So I walked down the ridge road myself and found the simple stream, not much of a stream really. I sat in it in my blue jeans. I tore the leg off of one where I had sliced into my knee, and watched the blood make a delicate weave with the water. The water and sky the same empty color, like 7-Up. —Carole Stoa Senn Shamu, Splash &amp; Solemn — Carole would put horses, rather than herself, at the center of her story — is a necessarily fragmented account of how a talented and lovely young life was ravaged twice by violent attacks against which she had no way to defend herself. —From the preface by Emilio DeGrazia

Shamu, Splash & Solemn: The Creative Writing of Carole Jayne Stoa Senn

Gerber, Anne

Poetry

Lost Lake Folk Art

The finely woven tales in Seventeen Grams of Sould introduce characters whose lives are sad, heroic, funny, tragic and, finally, ordinary. Confronting the twin nemeses of disease and death they struggle - as we all must - toward small victories, and sometimes, even, understanding.

Seventeen Grams of Soul

Lone Oak Pr

"DeGrazia sings a lovely song in memory of a disintegrating way of life. "As Salvatore Amato searches for meaningful work in 1970s America, he stumbles into a mystery he must solve before he can understand all the stories he's been told by those who've shaped his world. "In America we say 'good as gold', but in Italy the saying is buono come pane, and Degrazia's latest novel is just that, as good as warm homemade bread." Fred Gardaphe, author, Italian Signs, American Street

A Canticle for Bread & Stones

Short Stories & Anthologies