The Eater of Dreams

by Christopher Bogart

Scheduled Release Date: May 15, 2020

“Christopher Bogart’s poems demonstrate that poetry’s embrace can include the idea of justice and the feeling of outrage.”

—Robert Pinsky, United States Poet Laureate (1997–2000)

The Eater of Dreams begins with a vulgar curse and ends with an open question. The poems tell stories of the journey that begins in the hells of the poorest sections of Central America and ends with the hope of salvation in a new land.

The title refers, in a narrow sense, to the poem that tells of what happens to those whose lives and dreams are chewed up under the wheels of the freight train known as The Beast. In a greater sense, it refers to all of the obstacles: violent gangs, drug cartels, Mexican immigration authorities—all the dangers these migrants face on their journey north to the US. Each year, only forty percent of those who begin the journey make it to the border. One out of every five of these migrants is an unaccompanied minor. Two out of every five, men and women, are raped (or worse) by gangs or drug cartels. Some either drown in the Rio Grande or die of thirst in the American deserts. Approximately 500 bodies are either washed up on the shores or found in our deserts each year. But they keep coming because, for them, paradise could be just one more hell away.

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My Miscellaneous Muse:

Poem Pastiches & Whimsical Words

by Ralph La Rosa

Scheduled Release Date: May 15, 2020

Ralph La Rosa, as the title indicates, has created a delightful collection of poetry pastiches and whimsical words-of-play, including playful sonnets, weird lists, clerihews, proverbs and converbs, tailgating couplets, strange rhymes, and auto-epitaphs of famous poets.

Enjoy La Rosa’s celebration and unique spin of the classics, as he pays homage to Dickinson, Whitman, Yeats, Frost, Plath, Keats, Pound, Williams and more.

I have eaten
the bacon
that was in
the fridge …

Readers will enjoy the poet’s resurrection of famous poems as he uses them as springboards to tackle today’s pop culture and politics. And to wrap it up, he ends with a brief story about Chinese and American writers, including Allen Ginsberg and Annie Dillard, whom La Rosa leads through Disneyland.

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The Screaming Silence

by Lanser Howard

Updated Release Date: April 21, 2020

Silence can be as sweet as the most beautiful symphony. Or it can be a scream—so terrifying it will keep you up all night trying to get it out of your head.

Loss has followed Lanser Howard his whole life, clinging to him like a wet coat. And during such times, it is the silence that always seems to speak the loudest. It screams truth, and anyone who has gone through deep, dark pain knows this. Too often, this screaming silence feels inescapable—like you can never turn it off—and can make you feel like you’re losing your mind. You will do anything to block out the noise of The Screaming Silence.

In his first full-length poetry collection, Lanser Howard examines loss, the most barebones of human emotion. He takes readers on a merciless journey through the depths of agony and grief—through The Screaming Silence—and then into the light of hope. Hope to have the courage to fight on.

 

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Breakpoint

by Christopher Bogart

Scheduled Release Date: April 15, 2020

Breakpoint is a collection of poems that speaks to a nation in crisis. Its poetry is commentary on a country that was built on the promise of the American Dream, and yet is now led by a president who, in 2015, declared that “The American Dream is dead!”

It explores the nightmares of Trump’s America: the rise of white supremacy, the separation of 5,400 migrant children from their families, the resurgence of virulent racism and the rise in hate crimes against Muslims, Jews, and people of color. These poems explore the promise our forefathers made of an American Dream – a dream enshrined in the words of the Declaration of Independence, on the base of the Statue of Liberty and in the hearts of immigrants who have come to America in search of that Dream.

This is a call to action, to protest, to participate and to break the silence of indifference—a silence we can no longer afford if we want the promises of America’s past to be fulfilled in the present, and to guarantee American’s future.

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(good cape weather)

by Wes Jordans

Scheduled Release Date: April 15, 2020

With the quick passing thoughts that we so rarely catch, Wes Jordans takes readers on a flurry of perspectives and relationships, while trying to move forward down the only open road, enjoying the process of being on the way—to live in the moment and take the chance, wear the cape when you can. (good cape weather) wants you to know the protagonist, but not necessarily know what they’re up to.

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Between States of Matter

by Sherry Rind

Scheduled Release Date: March 31, 2020

Nothing stays at rest, writes Sherry Rind, and, indeed, these are restless poems—probing, examining, taking nothing for granted—by a poet who is not fooled by easy appearances. There is an edge to Rind that has been honed on the worn stone of experience, the relentless strop of memory. Still, she finds solace in the adaptability of wild animals, insects, birds, the fierce allegiance of dogs and the tenacity of plants. She is, finally, a poet of hope, one who has been able to, as Wendell Berry says, Be joyful/ though you have considered all the facts.

~Samuel Green
Inaugural Poet Laureate, Washington State

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Staring Down the Tracks

by Julia Paul

Scheduled Release Date: March 15, 2020

Staring Down the Tracks is a collection of poems that gives voice to those affected by addiction, a population that, despite their numbers and diverse demographics, is often harshly judged and silenced by shame. The mother and son of these poems are your neighbors, friends, relatives, and co-workers who need to have a dialog with you

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“Images precise and severe are accompanied by a fragile, defiantly beautiful music as the poet describes the son whom she will lose, over and over again.”

~Erica Funkhouser, author of Post & Rail, winner of the Idaho Prize for Poetry

 

“…a courageous and generous collection, an essential contribution to literature about addiction that will change you.”

~Daniel Donaghy, author, Somerset: Start with the Trouble,
winner of the Paterson Prize for Literary Excellence

 

“If Sylvia Plath were the mother of an addict, she would write poems like [these].”

~Miriam Greenspan, psychotherapist and author,
Healing Through the Dark Emotions: The Wisdom of Grief, Fear, and Despair.

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The Widow at the Piano

by Sue Fagalde Lick

Scheduled Release Date: March 15, 2020

The aging woman playing the piano at church may look saintly, but her mind is busy wondering things like what’s under the priest’s robes and why Jesus didn’t invite the women to join him. Also, when someone faints in the Communion line, should she keep playing? All the while, she is playing, singing, and directing the choir, hoping that she’s on the same verse as everyone else. The Widow at the Piano takes readers on a journey through the distracted mind of the music minister who has recently lost her husband to Alzheimer’s disease and whose only nearby family is the church family at Sacred Heart Church in Newport, Oregon. These poems look at the challenges of leading small church choirs, traditional vs. modern church music, the role of women ministers in the male-dominated Catholic Church, faith vs. practical concerns, and life behind the scenes at Mass, with an honest blend of reverence and irreverence from a writer who has always felt not quite Catholic enough.

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“Reminiscent of Jan Karon’s Mitford Series, this collection of poetry highlights the goodness and foibles of a committed woman of faith with humor and steadfastness.”

~Rachel Barton, editor, Willawaw Journal

“Sassy, yearning, and bittersweet, Sue Fagalde Lick’s oh-so-human conversations with God and with herself—part prayer, part challenge, part confession–offer a refreshing new take on the theme of the spiritual quest.”

~Ingrid Wendt, Oregon Book Award recipient,, author of Evensong

“Her dog has to pee, her pantyhose are migrating, and Jesus might be trying to sell her a vacuum cleaner. Lick’s strength as a poet comes from her courageous honesty and her ability to go from raw emotion to the perfect funny detail on a dime.”

~Nancy Vieira Couto, poetry editor of Epoch,, two-time NEA fellowship recipient

“A touch of humor, a touch of grief. A touch of bawdy, a touch of intimate. A touch of religious, a touch of reverent. Put all of these together and you get one wonderful and satisfying read.”

~Kathie Giorgio, author, If You Tame Me

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