Tag Archives: book review

Book Review: Steve Yarbrough’s Stay Gone Days

Stay Gone Days by Steve Yarbrough My rating: 5 of 5 stars Yarbrough’s novel Stay Gone Days tells us a story that spans four decades in the lives of two sisters from the fictional Delta town of Loring, Mississippi. Their stories begin with their adventures in the town’s private high school in the 1970s. ThoughContinue reading “Book Review: Steve Yarbrough’s Stay Gone Days”

Book Review: Memorial Drive by Natasha Trethewey

Memorial Drive: A Daughter’s Memoir by Natasha Trethewey My rating: 5 of 5 stars Trethewey’s memoir recounts her life with her mother and her odyssey to understand her mother’s murder at the hands of her stepfather. It is an exploration of memory and of the narratives we tell about our lives to make some senseContinue reading “Book Review: Memorial Drive by Natasha Trethewey”

Book Review: When you Learn the Alphabet by Kendra Allen

When You Learn the Alphabet by Kendra Allen My rating: 5 of 5 stars Kendra Allen’s essay collection When You Learn the Alphabet is an important collection of essays on race in America. Allen writes in several forms, ranging from memoir, to lyric essay, to poetry. What I admire most about these essays is Allen’sContinue reading “Book Review: When you Learn the Alphabet by Kendra Allen”

Book Review: Biloxi by Mary Miller

Biloxi by Mary Miller My rating: 5 of 5 stars Disclaimer: Mary Miller is my colleague in The W’s MFA program in Creative Writing. I’m a big fan of her work. Biloxi is a hilarious read, though it’s not laugh-out-lout funny, outlandish, or bawdy. Mary Miller’s humor, to my mind, consists more of taking wry,Continue reading “Book Review: Biloxi by Mary Miller”

Writing for New Media

Many things about The W’s new low-residency MFA in creative writing get me excited, especially communicating with prospective students, but lately the most exciting part has been putting together a fall schedule. That is still very much in flux and will depend on the needs and desires of the students who actually apply — as I’ve toldContinue reading “Writing for New Media”

Book Review: Sympathetic Magic by Amy Fleury

Sympathetic Magic by Amy Fleury My rating: 5 of 5 stars As the title poem announces, “Sometimes what is needed comes to hand.” These poems are both needed and close at hand. Amy Fleury’s voice is never overly intellectual, never too familiar. These poems are calm and contemplative, yet they bring necessary images to life,Continue reading “Book Review: Sympathetic Magic by Amy Fleury”