David Anthony Sam's Blog, page 158
June 6, 2018
Good biography for those mostly interested in the personal rather than larger historical context
Queen Victoria A Personal History by Christopher Hibbert
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This is subtitled “A Personal History,” and that is a fair description. If you are looking for a biography that includes the political, sociological, diplomatic, and military contexts in any detail, this book will be a disappointment. If you are most interested in the family and other relationships, the happenings of court dinners, and wardrobes and such, this is the biography for you.
June 3, 2018
My chapbook, The Topography of Hope, was shortlisted in the final 10 of These Fagile Lilacs’ 2018 Chapbook Contest
My chapbook, The Topography of Hope, was shortlisted in the final 10 of These Fagile Lilacs’ 2018 Chapbook Contest, but failed to make the final 3. Congrats to the winner and runners-up.
June 2, 2018
Dual Coast Magazine has accepted another of my poems, “Tanka – A Long Path,” for publication in their Issue # 6.
Dual Coast Magazine has accepted another of my poems, “Tanka – A Long Path,” for publication in their Issue # 6. This poems came out of a trip to St. Joseph, FL and the image of the dark shadows of gnarled trees across the white sand along the Gulf shoreline.
May 28, 2018
Truth
“A lie ain’t a side of the story; it’s just a lie.” From the first episode of The Wire.
IO Literary Journal has accepted 2 of my poems for publication in their inaugural print issue.
IO Literary Journal has accepted 2 of my poems for publication in their inaugural print issue.
May 24, 2018
An “iridescent scream”
Punishment by Nancy Miller Gomez
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Whenever I begin to read a collection of poetry, I hope for that feeling of a wind in my chest, that the “top if my head is taken off.” This small collection by Nancy Miller Gomez did that for me.
At only 9 poems and 2 short autobiographical prose pieces, “Punishment” has more power than many other, much longer collections. Gomez has translated her experiences teaching poetry in prison into vital, living verse, without in any way betraying or making maudlin the essential reality of those incarcerated.
Her poetry flares with beautiful imagery:
“The iridescent scream of a sharp-shinned hawk/circling somewhere in the pastel wash/of afternoon air.”
“Or heartache—the darkening hurt/that feels like all the colors crushed/into the one you see shimmering/when you close your eyes.”
“…an unexpected hole/in the sky where the moon has moved on.”
It is heartening to read as the prisoners “gather these images like kindling/to try to ignite the darkness.”
I heartily recommend this chapbook.
May 21, 2018
Heron Tree has published my poem “Brittle” online as part of its visual poetry issue.
Heron Tree has published my poem “Brittle” online as part of its visual poetry issue.
May 16, 2018
It is truly an honor that three of my poems are included in Issue #14 of Deadly Writers Patrol.
It is truly an honor that three of my poems are included in Issue #14 of Deadly Writers Patrol. This nonprofit’s mission “includes veterans of the Vietnam, Persian Gulf, Iraq, and Afghanistan wars, and contributors keenly interested in issues of war & peace, military service, nation building, deployment, homecoming, readjustment, moral injury, posttraumatic stress, and more.”
You can order a copy HERE.
May 15, 2018
Farewell Tom Wolfe
Tom Wolfe, apostle of ‘New Journalism’ who captured extravagance of his times, dies at 88 – The Washington Post
He was a master of narrative nonfiction, and his career-defining book, “The Right Stuff,” was an epic account of the idea of heroism in America.
— Read on www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/tom-wolfe-apostle-of-new-journalism-who-captured-extravagance-of-his-times-dies-at-87/2018/05/15/89c1e450-5851-11e8-8836-a4a123c359ab_story.html
May 14, 2018
Google Duplex beat the Turing test: Are we doomed? | ZDNet
Google’s new Duplex AI sounds human, with stammers, pauses, and all. It could be a useful addition to Google Assistant or the harbinger of something much more dark and worrisome.
— Read on www.zdnet.com/article/google-duplex-beat-the-turing-test-are-we-doomed/
