Month: May 2021

Poetry

L’Américain by Christopher Nielsen

AméricainAméricain!He calls out in Frenchnear the train station at Cassisl’homme eager small young traveler,early twenties. Showing me a book byJack Kerouac—Le vagabond solitaire.Asked if I liked Kerouac; for sure. Rucksack partially strappedover his back,smiling, you’re américainhe can tell, feel it. We both have packs, riding  le chemin de ferstop for stops, hiking, campingmaking friends. Days later, grabbing my rucksack,to ride the trains again.Traveling along for Saint-Tropez, Nice,maybe Monaco.Blurring … Continue reading L’Américain by Christopher Nielsen

Genna Rivieccio5 Comments
Criticism

Yes, Daddy Is A No

In 2005, a “trick” movie called Self Medicated was released. “Trick” not meaning prostitute, so much as deception. Jonathan Parks-Ramage’s Yes, Daddy, in some sense, feels like that movie. It’s marketed as being “raw” and “unbridled,” when, in fact, it’s all ultimately a bid to get people to see the “good” in Christianity (or at least Christian principles)—no matter how many times it (and life) fucks you over. … Continue reading Yes, Daddy Is A No

Genna Rivieccio3 Comments
Poetry

I Bit the Hand by Donna Dallas

The hand that fedclothedheldsmotheredthe same hand that posed itself as comfortfostered my birth I chewed into the knucklesthey crunched and poppedripped the hand offshook it with ragecame back later to lickdown to bone My savagery straight from the wombor nurtured so off the spectrumI was bled to believeI squeezed out taintedat eight I put a plastic bag over my headto diethe hand did not remove … Continue reading I Bit the Hand by Donna Dallas

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Criticism

2012 and Alcoholism Survivor Support Group: Megan Nolan’s Acts of Desperation

Like her main character, Megan Nolan feels bad. Bad that she couldn’t have offered a “cheerier” book, perhaps, to the masses–but most especially bad for those in her hometown of Waterford, Ireland, which also cameos in what, for some, might be an all too recognizable tale. Aptly called Acts of Desperation. A title, in fact, that makes one marvel at how no author ever thought … Continue reading 2012 and Alcoholism Survivor Support Group: Megan Nolan’s Acts of Desperation

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Poetry

Revolution by Susie Gharib

[A reading of Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities] The word reeks with the ravings of mankind,the spilling of blood that is redder than wine,the chopping of heads like chickens’ at the slaughterhouse,the barbarous pillage of every temple of God,the perpetuation of the legacy of original but now genetic crime.And amid the stench of persecuted blooda man sought the guillotine to part with his … Continue reading Revolution by Susie Gharib

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