The standards for near-and-post-apocalyptic Americana have risen, not least of which because the past two years have offered a surfeit of quality world’s end fiction with 2014’s bestselling Station Eleven and, this year, the more rarified In the Country of Ice Cream Star and Find Me available for pickup.
Read MoreHis most recent collection, Chapel of Inadvertent Joy, displays a Jeffrey McDaniel as potent as ever, despite its contending with the various declines of middle-age and a love wrecked by infidelity. The poems in this collection, like in his other books, have a habit of sneaking up and biting you, making for a surprising and invigorating experience.
Read MoreThere’s nothing like a death to bring the complexities of dysfunctional families into bold relief, and the Barrs of West Virginia are no exception. When Steve, the eldest of three brothers and a diagnosed schizophrenic, dies of a heart attack, Mark, the youngest who’s done some time in Bellevue himself, travels home after a long absence for the funeral.
Read MoreNight Surfer is Chuck Prophet’s 13th solo album. Lucky #13. Quite a feat for an artist with a cult following, though not entirely surprising from someone with such a devoted fan base. Regular followers will connect with some of Prophet’s trademarks: semi-spoken lyrics, smoke-and-gravel voice, and riffs that make you want to play air guitar.
Read MoreIn her first full-length collection of poems, Some Kind of Shelter, Sara Tracey describes a gritty and vibrant working-class Ohio—a muscular, calloused and labor-hardened place that is reflected in the timbre of these steely poems.
Read MoreFrom the borders between ocean and shore, sea and sky, the voice of Niki Koulouris’ The sea with no one in it speaks. More importantly, though, the voice of this collection of poems positions the reader at the nexus of the image that imprints itself upon the perceiver’s mind and its apt expression in language on the page.
Read MoreIn her characteristic style, Kristina Marie Darling blurs the already tenuous lines we draw between literary genres in her book Requited. Composed of a series of thirteen prose poems appended by an epilogue consisting of fragmented images, the book is defined by Darling as a work of fiction and includes the conventional disclaimer regarding coincidental resemblance to actual people and events.
Read MoreMichael J. Soloway reviews the short film Dog of God by John Ledbetter and April Day.
Read MoreNashville based singer and song writer k.s. Rhoads has recently returned to the record-making business bearing the fresh fruit of his composing and performing labor. His new album, The Wilderness, departs from his original stylings—soaring classical juxtaposed with pop melodies and hints of folk in the vocals—to a new, jangly world.
Read MoreKenny James, former bandleader of The Witching Hour and session musician for nearly everybody who has good taste in players, is at it with a new and unique project called A Beautiful Curse. By “new,” I mean fresh off the griddle; by “unique,” I mean this collection of music combines just about every genre of music found in the well and performed at the highest top-shelf level.
Read MoreJust a couple weeks back, Matthew Ryan released his new record, In the Dusk of Everything. After picking up a copy and giving it a spin, I knew I was listening a singer-songwriter well-versed in the literary arts.
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