BOA Blog

Peter Makuck's Mandatory Evacuation was recently reviewed by Sonja James of West Virginia newspaper, The Journal. The review has high praise for both the book and the poet: "Peter Makuck’s Mandatory Evacuation is the finest collection of poetry to date by one of America’s most accomplished writers."The review highlights Makuck’s ability to keenly observe the world around him and then transform these observations into "graphic and exquisite imagery . . . Throughout this enchanting volume, Makuck dazzles us with his close reading of the world. In the title poem, 'Mandatory Evacuation, Late August', he allows us entry into the troubled...

In a NewPages review of The End of Pink, reviewer Ryo Yamaguchi says: "There is an abiding anguish that swells like a tidal water through Kathryn Nuernberger’s new book, The End of Pink. . . . In these pages, we are quickly introduced to Nuernberger’s discursive style, a think-out-loud kind of associational reading that makes for natural though somewhat fast-paced lines." Analyzing closely each section of the book, the review demonstrates how each section evolves into the next.Noting Nuernberger’s use of science and pseudoscience as means to explore personal issues in the first section of the book, the review notes...

In a new Story366 review of Bridge by Robert Thomas, reviewer Michael Czyzniejewski offers a brief synopsis of the book and its protagonist Alice, who works in a San Francisco law firm and is attracted to her co-worker, David. While Czyzniejewski says that he doesn’t usually describe whole collections in his story reviews, he does so here because he’s conflicted about the format of the work. Is it a collection of short stories? Is it a novel?"Bridge is a book unlike most I’ve read, as it’s not really a short story collection as it is a novel in short poetic proses...

Publishers Weekly recently reviewed Janice N. Harrington’s new book, Primitive: The Life and Art of Horace Pippin. According to the review, "poet and children’s author Harrington pays tribute to African-American painter Horace Pippin (1888–1946), presenting ekphrastic poems about the painter’s work alongside historical insights into his aesthetic choices and his journals."The review offers some background on Pippin’s life, lending insight into why Harrington chose this compelling artist as her subject. Through her poems, Harrington looks at Pippin’s past, especially his time spent as a solider, and how it influenced his art."The artist’s own words lend poignancy to the poems and...

    Two BOA fiction collections were recently reviewed by Micheal Czyzniejewski of Story366: Robin McLean's Reptile House and Douglas Watson's The Era of Not Quite.Focusing on the Reptile House story "Cold Snap," which he says he is "particularly fond of," Czyzniejewski calls the story a "combination of 'Cold Snap' by Thom Jones and Ron Hansen’s 'Wickedness,' with a little Walking Dead thrown in."He says: "Overall, I enjoyed how eclectic this collection comes off, how different Robin McLean is able to make each story, yet how in-depth each world feels, how intimately we get to know each of her protagonists. There’s...