Poetry Quarterly: Spring 2014

Poets, Contributing

Prolific Press

Jitter: Issue #2

Matt Moore

Contributing Writers

Spy Pond Poetry by Ed Meek
 Praise for Spy Pond "In this rich collection, Ed Meek "pull[s] us back from the edge" (as in his poem, On Edge). Compelling and diverse, whether his subject is the Boston Marathon bombing, addressing Robert Frost, considering silence, love, loss, or the Iraqi war-he manages to pull me in and then set me back down again with deeper knowledge, contemplation, and perspective." ~Cynthia Brackett-Vincent, publisher of the Aurorean poetry journal; author, Questions About Home 
 "Ed Meek's poems give a slap to the reader's complacency. Whether it is a wild coyote stalking its domestic prey on the broad and manicured lawns of the suburbs, or his contemplation of our inevitable decline, he is a poet who constantly explores what is beneath the scrim, the facade, the theatrical props, the smoke and mirrors we allow ourselves to be blinded by." ~Doug Holder, Publisher Ibbetson Street Press, author of Eating Grief at 3 AM. (Muddy River Books 2013). 
 "This volume of poetry is brilliant. Meek stuns us with his honesty, so direct and so mature. Meek is as precise about things as he is about his feelings. His extraordinary talent and compassion shine through and permeate each line. This is indeed good news, news that can never be discounted." ~James Wm. Chichetto, The Dream of Norumbega, an Epic Poem on The United States of America Volumes I, II, III. 
 "Ed Meek, in this wondrously varied collection, explores the hard topics with a deft hand, perceptive eye, and generous insight. All with startling language. This is a collection worth reading and rereading. There is much, much here to discover, contemplate, and thoroughly savor. And I do." ~Phillip X Levine (Chronogram Magazine Poetry Editor).

Spy Pond

Literature & Fiction

Meek, Ed

Poetry

A Poverty of Words, by Frederick Pollack (Prolific Press Inc. 2015), is an important and relevant publication of American Poetry by one of the finest living poets today. 
"In his rich new collection, Frederick Pollack has opinions and observations about everything. Pollack is 'didactic' in the very best sense of the word- and learn I did from his unflinching, never ingratiating poems." ~Jane Shore (Professor, George Washington University) 
"If you've never read this poet, prepare for one of the greatest breakthroughs in your reading life. Yes, Frederick Pollack is that good." ~Robert McDowell (Co-Founder and editor, Story Line Press) 
"I enjoy Fred Pollack's poems, and consider them necessary because they do what poetry should do, grapple with the important. When I dwell on his poems, I can see the images leave the page and come to life." ~Daniel J. Langton (Professor, SF State; winner, Edgar Allan Poe Award) 
"Pollack has a talent for lines that will draw you up short. It's the kind of thing you might think couldn't be sustained through the sheer volume of poetry in this collection, but you'd be wrong. Every poem deserves a second look." ~Krishan Coupland (Editor, Neon Literary Magazine)

A Poverty of Words

Pollack, Frederick

Praise for The Sacred Monotony of BreathJust read “Waiting for the Kitchen Floor to Dry” and try to tell me Robert Nordstrom is not a powerful and sensitive witness. Nordstrom asks the big questions about love and death, old lovers and the celebration of living (“Recalling Happy”). Tell me there’s a better title than “Drinking Tea Downwind from Auschwitz” or a better first line than “my dog’s a liar and she’s not very good at it” (“Good Dog”). Read these poems. These are good poems. Bruce Dethlefsen, author of Small Talk and Unexpected Shiny Things, Wisconsin Poet Laureate (2011-2012)
Robert Nordstrom's poems live richly in the space between memory, breath, and desire. Nostalgic, doubting, and doubling-back over the lost country of childhood and adolescence, he affectionately searches the past for clues that will illuminate the mysterious and haunting present. Alison Luterman, author of Desire Zoo and Feral City
Robert Nordstrom writes with lyrically gritty understatement, compassion, and humor about the ordinary personal and its historical and political shadows: a dead mother “hair in curlers,/ nibbling an egg salad sandwich/ on the dark side of a screen door,” “a shoplifting orgy/ of squirt guns and yo-yos the morning after” a trip to the altar, returning from Vietnam to a shopping mall’s parking lot, a locker room in which “we’re all a bunch of cheerleaders and assassins/ with remotes,” a bus-load of school kids … already programmed with the high and low impulses of humans. “These children, these children, these children—/ why do I love them so? Because they open the windows / on the first warm day of winter,/ inhabit their stories before parody obscures.” Listen as Nordstrom allows his readers to inhabit their stories too. Wendy Vardaman, author of Obstructed View and founding co-editor of Cowfeather Press. She is one of Madison, Wisconsin's two Poets Laureate (2012-2015).

The Sacred Monotony of Breath

Nordstrom, Robert

William G. Davies Jr. explodes with this lengthy book of short poems, concise and deliberate, with compression that reads effortlessly. With a voice as familiar as a remembered friend, Davies writes about the world, inviting us to see it as he does, through the lens of a masterful poet at the top of his game. Finally approachable poetry we can all call our own.
Paperback: 122 pages Publisher: Prolific Press (May 24, 2015) Praise for Before There Were Bones
"William G. Davies Jr. gives us small, concise, clear minded poems that shine and sing with clarity. "Evening settles like a soft comb through mahogany hair..." We enter each poem as an intimate guest, welcomed like, "the clatter of supper dishes stacked one on top of the other, still warm." The reader will come away with this sense of being there and being loved through all the different life experiences. Well worth the read."
Irene Koronas Poetry Editor: Wilderness House Literary Review "A collection of short, sharp jabs at the world, each poem a sliver of wisdom distilled, arresting as a face suddenly appearing in a dusty window."
Justin Lowe Bluepepper

Before There Were Bones

Davies Jr., William G.

Featured poets:Zach Agnew, Bobby Aldridge, Debbi Antebi, Alexis Avila, Grace Black, Sandra Bounds, Mandy Brown, Patricia Campion, Theresa Cancro, Jesus Chameleon, Michelle Chen, Martha Christina, Allison Cowzer, Evan Cutts, Janet Eaton, Ian Everett, Alice Folkart, Richard Heby, Beth Howard, Heikki Huotari, Ilhem Issaoui, Ophelia Leong, Dennis Lowe, Sarah Lunsford, Meredith Maclean, Bill Melton, Michelle Miller, Elizabeth Mitchell, Calvin Olsen, Sarah Orr, Julie Ann Otis, Vidya Panicker, Robert Petras, David Rich, Rick Richardson, Jackie Maugh Robinson, Sarah Russell, Larry Schug, Cody Schweickert, Newton Smith, Matt Stefon, Katherine Sukeforth, Patty Tancyus, Barbara Tate, Pat Tompkins, Tyson West, Joanna M. Weston5.06" x 7.81" (12.852 x 19.837 cm)Black &amp; White on White paper60 pagesProlific PressISBN-13: 978-1632750358ISBN-10: 163275035X

Three Line Poetry: Issue #31

Near Death / Near Life strikes a meaningful and tender balance between the appreciation for life's poignant moments, and the human experience of war, both as a construct and a memory.  Poetry: 114 Pages, Paperback Dennis Maulsby is a retired bank president living in Ames, Iowa with his wife, Ruth, a retired legal secretary, and his dog, Wally, a retired CIA operative. His poetry and short stories have appeared in Lyrical Iowa, The Des Moines Register, The North American Review, Spillway, Haiku Journal, The Hawai'i Pacific Review, The Briarcliff Review, and other journals.  Maulsby is a native of Iowa and a graduate of Marshalltown High School and Grinnell College, Grinnell, Iowa. A U.S. Army Vietnam veteran, he served with the 25th infantry Division while in country. He is a past president of the Iowa Poetry Association.  "To read Dennis Maulsby's powerful, uncompromising poems is to inhabit the vivid, surreal dream of a soldier--to see the world as he, a Vietnam veteran, did, many years ago. The poems are about the horror of war, and loss, and the road back to civilian life, described in hauntingly beautiful and precise images that you cannot forget. As they bear witness to the reality of war and its lasting effects, they are a triumph of honesty and the power of art. Read them."  Karen E. Bender, author of Refund   "In his newest collection of poetry, Near Death/Near Life, Dennis Maulsby captures a devastating universe of visceral juxtapositions with acuity and grace. His sensual images alternate between the raw and highly polished, move from being softly lyrical to staccato-rapid firing, blend unique jazz riffs with discordant turbulence. The language is compelling, interestingly fresh, concise and layered. Maulsby's poetry is intense and immediate, and can leave the reader breathless as memories of war-time nightmares take on tender overtones, but he intersperses well-crafted haiku, musical interludes, historical fragments and love poems throughout his book to offer moments of respite from the symphonic killing fields he depicts. Complicated, intelligent, moving, fascinating, horrifying—Maulsby's book is a rare glimpse into the creative spirit struggling to reconcile the brutal realities of death with the compassionate beauty of life." Marilyn Baszczynski, President of the Iowa Poetry Association  "Maulsby's third collection of poetry begins in violence and ends in an aria, carrying the reader along in an intimate and tender journey through decades of love, life, war and peace. Along the way, we touch on all the things we've come to expect from Maulsby--haiku, Vietnam, deep imagery, capital-R Romanticism, etc--but we also see an expansion both in the scope of the content and in the exuberant and musical prosody. Settle in, fasten your seatbelt, and plan to spend some time with this book!" Jim Coppoc, Senior Lecturer, Iowa State University Author of Manhattan Beatitude; Reliquary; and Blood, Sex & Prayer

Near Death / Near Life

Maulsby, Dennis

Featuring poems by:A.J. Huffman, Amy Bell, Amy Weaver, Anna Cates, Bill Melton, Carol Kohn, Christopher Gusek, Colin Campbell, Dane Miller, Deborah Guzzi, Edward Huddleston, Elizabeth Mitchell, Grace Black, Herb Kauderer, Jackie Maugh Robinson, Jason C. Segarra, Joann Grisetti, John Reinhart, Joseph J Kozma, Joseph Roberts, Kasha Nystrand, Katherine Sukeforth, Kaylea Champion, Liz Moore, Macie Lamontagne, Mario Sakran, Mark Volz, Martin Gottlieb Cohen, Maryam Qureshi, Rebecca Kane, Stephan Anstey, Suchishraba Sarangi, Teddy Kimathi, Tiffany Dias, ToWednesday Sibley, with featured poem by Elena Malec

50 Haikus: Volume 1 Issue 7

Featuring haiku by:Sherry Abaldo, Oluseyi Adegbola, Zach Agnew, Sandra Barnett, Ron Bracale, Patricia Campion, Anna Cates, C.M. Crockford, Troy Cunio, Zach Dafoe, Dan Dolen, Katryn Dougherty, Ana Drobot, Linda Eng, Lynette Esposito, Susan Gentry, Annmarie Gleason, Paul Hellweg, Cody Huddleston, Kate Jones, Kirsten I Kasai, Joseph J Kozma, Lindsay Lake, Bill Melton, Dean Miller, Elizabeth Mitchell, Darren Nicholls, Michele Paquette, Melissa Patterson, Iris Peters, Terese Pierre, Dottie Piet, Rachel Pond, Jessica Ramer, Shelly Reed Thieman, Jackie Maugh Robinson, Emily Rojas, Patricia Rossi, Mary R. P. Schutter, Ron Scully, Mary Smith, Tim Smith, Tammy Snyder, Tyson West, and Leonard White.

Haiku Journal: Issue #39

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