Subscriber News: April 2018
Recent Honors
Congratulations to Norbert Hirschhorn. His new poetry collection, Stone. Bread. Salt., will be published this month by Holland Park Press, a British publisher of literature and translations. Norbert writes, "As I approach my ninth decade of life I am aware of the need to share with my descendants the wisdom, texts and lessons handed down by our ancestors of all religions. The poems in this collection reflect this aim and necessity." The book includes his Arabic-to-English translations of four poems by Syrian exile Fouad M. Fouad. Physician-poet Norbert Hirschhorn was commended as an American Health Hero by President Bill Clinton and has published four other full collections including To Sing Away the Darkest Days: Poems Re-imagined from Yiddish Folksongs.
Congratulations to Joan Houlihan. Her fifth poetry collection, Shadow-feast, was published by Four Way Books this spring. See sample poems on her website. In a review in Washington Independent Review of Books, notable critic Grace Cavalieri calls Shadow-feast a "stunning poetry array on the death of [the narrator's] beloved" and says the poems "distill language and feeling to a crystalline state that never tells a lie." Visit Joan's website and click the "News & Events" menu tab for her upcoming readings in the Boston area.
Congratulations to Mark D. Hart. His second poetry collection, The Joy of Blasphemy, was published in March by Levellers Press. He describes the book as "a celebration of the earth and a none-too-pious, farm-eye view of spirituality, religion, and growing up Catholic." He kindly shares a sample poem here. Mark will be reading from his book at 4:30 pm on Sunday, April 22, at the Cadigan Center for Religious & Spiritual Life, Amherst College, 38 Woodside Avenue, Amherst, MA.
Congratulations to M. Lee Alexander. Her collection of new and selected poems, Spinning the Compass, was recently published by Aquillrelle. From the book blurb by literary scholar Hermine Pinson: "From the Outer Banks of North Carolina, to Folly Bridge, to Stonehenge, or to her beloved Finland, this sojourner's travels take her to the heart of things, great and small." Read the press release here.
Congratulations to Mi West. He was a quarter-finalist in the 2017 ScreenCraft Cinematic Short Story Contest. The deadline was December 16 for this contest with prizes up to $1,000. His story "The Horn: Whispers of Eternity in F Major", originally published in Jerry Jazz Musician as a fiction contest runner-up in 2016, was reprinted this March at Digging Through the Fat, a "literary and arts journal for cultural omnivores" that showcases previously published work in their "Community" feature.
Congratulations to Ruth Hill. Her poem "April Showers" won an Honorable Mention in the 44th New Millennium Writings Awards. "Being Bad on a Lily Pad" and "April Showers" were published online in the March 2018 issue of the Royal City Literary Arts Society (RCLAS) e-zine Wordplay at Work, and "Dappled" and "Light Advancing Through Trees" will appear in the April issue. "Flamingo with Magnolia" will be published in April by The Broke Bohemian, whose editor Tyler Pursch said, "We here at the Bohemian enjoyed it immensely." "I Hear Her Singing in My Garden" will be published in the Spring issue of Song of the San Joaquin, a quarterly publication of the California Federation of Chaparral Poets. "Flaxen Field" will be published online in April by Junto Magazine. Ruth notes that "Junto Magazine uniquely provides valuable feedback for every submission."
Congratulations to Jeanne-Marie Osterman. Her poetry chapbook There's a Hum was published in January by Finishing Line Press. She will be reading in the Finishing Line Poetry Showcase event at 6:00-8:00 pm on Thursday, May 3, at Poets House, 10 River Terrace, New York, NY.
Recent Publications
Annie Dawid's essay "What They Call Him" was published in Windmill, the literary journal of Hofstra University. The theme of this issue was "Identity". The piece discusses cultural stereotypes about her multiracial son and her Jewish heritage.
Shobana Gomes's novella A Christmas Duet is available on Amazon in print and e-book editions. This love story is told in poetic verses and journal entries.
David W. Berner's novel A Well-Respected Man is available on Amazon in print and e-book editions. From the book blurb: "Professor Martin Gregory is a respected Chicago writer. After falling in love with a student and eventually losing both her and his job, he moves to the English countryside to re-balance his life. Is his character strong enough to confront what he discovers there, or will he run from his biggest challenge?" In other news, Berner's essay "The Runaway" was published in March in the online edition of the journal Longshot Island, and his essay "Three Drunks and Two Cops" will appear in the print edition.
Mark Fleisher's book Reflections: Soundings from the Deep, a collection of poetry, prose, and photographs, was released in February and is available on Amazon. The book is informed by his five decades in journalism, including a tour of duty as a combat reporter in Vietnam.
Carolyn Howard-Johnson and Magdalena Ball have released a new collection of poems about nature and the environment, Sublime Planet, in honor of Earth Day (April 22). The e-book is available to Amazon Prime members for free at http://bitly.com/EarthDayKind and all sales proceeds from the print book of Sublime Planet will be donated to the World Wildlife Fund. Read sample poems here.
R.T. Castleberry's poems "That Dilemma" and "Blown Down Blues" were published in Fourth & Sycamore, the literary journal of the Greenville (Ohio) Public Library.
David Kherdian was interviewed in March on the Mystical Positivist Radio Show. Kherdian is a notable Armenian-American author whose poetry books and memoirs chronicle mid-century immigrant life in Wisconsin and the intergenerational legacy of the Armenian genocide.
Gail Thomas, Lesléa Newman, and Joy Ladin will read their work at an event titled "Memory & Desire: Poetry of Midlife", at 7:00 pm on Wednesday, May 14, at Forbes Library, 20 West Street, Northampton, MA.
Published: April 9, 2018
