David Anthony Sam's Blog, page 139
July 9, 2019
Review: Pentimento
Pentimento by Alysse Kathleen McCanna
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Alysse McCanna’s chapbook, “Pentimento” sings
with the true songs of a poet who has lived and paid attention. Having
experienced life’s tragedies, she is without self-pity but not hard
hope. While the poems are very personal, as is true of good poetry, the
human experience that we all live in our own journeys shines through.
July 8, 2019
My sixth collection of poetry, Dark Fathers, to be published by Aldrich Press of Kelsay Books now has a tentative issue date of August 2020.
My sixth collection of poetry, Dark Fathers, to be published by Aldrich Press of Kelsay Books now has a tentative issue date of August 2020.
July 7, 2019
Haiku Journal will publish one of my poems in its next issue
Haiku Journal will publish one of my poems in its next issue.
July 6, 2019
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule – Hannah Arendt
“The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the convinced Communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction (i.e., the reality of experience) and the distinction between true and false (i.e., the standards of thought) no longer exist.” Hannah Arendt
Pale Blue Dot, by Carl Sagan
In the face of our smallness, can we forgive each other our differences?
“It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we’ve ever known.”
Pale Blue Dot, by Carl Sagan | Awakin.org
— Read on www.awakin.org/
July 3, 2019
Aji Magazine will publish my poem “As Syllable from Sound” in their Fall 2019 issue.
Aji Magazine
will publish my poem “As Syllable from Sound” in their Fall 2019 issue.
This is the 6th time they have published my poetry. Thank you Aji.
Kelsay Books will publish my poetry collection Dark Fathers, publication date to be announced
Kelsay Books will publish my poetry collection, Dark Fathers, publication date to be announced. This group of poems is about my Syrian-born grandfather, my father, and my relationship with him.
July 2, 2019
My poem “Bequest” has been published by The American Journal of Poetry
My poem “Bequest” has been published by The American Journal of Poetry. Thank you to Editor Robert Nazarene.
This poem is part of an unpublished collection inspired by the works of Arthur Rimbaud.
July 1, 2019
Win a whole year of the New Yorker, AGNI, Geist, Grain, and Carousel!
Win a whole year of the New Yorker, AGNI, Geist, Grain, and Carousel!
— Read on contest.literistic.com/
June 30, 2019
Review: The Embrace: Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo
The Embrace: Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo by Carolyn Kreiter-Foronda
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
“The Embrace” by Carolyn Kreiter Foronda imagines the voices of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera from the poet’s reading of their letters and journals as well as her own imagination. Many of the selections are two poems interlaced so that you may read them separately or together as a third poem. While this device works more often than not, as in the “Two Fridas” poems, there are places with it stumbles such as in “Deer Running.”
Overall, this collection is emotionally powerful without slipping too far into the maudlin. The language is generally fresh and eloquent. In a number of cases animals or inanimate objects are personified and given a speaking voice with mixed success. (I find it difficult to suspend disbelief in listening to a crematorium oven speaking.)
“The Embrace” sides with Frida Kahlo in this tortured relationship, a sympathy it is easy to agree with. The collection is powerful and beautiful especially when it gives Kahlo a living voice agin.
