Maryland Lit Review Publishes new Essay by James J. Patterson
Nathan Leslie's excellent Maryland Literary Review publishes James J. Patterson's new essay "Hermes at the Spouter Inn"
Hermes is back in this new personal essay by Bermuda Shorts author James J. Patterson. This time the trickster god dons the countenance of a voluble stranger at the Spouter Inn, a bar in Nantucket, a faded paperback of Jung's Memories, Dreams, Reflections in his hand.
"Hermes is a crazy cat," once said Patterson, "He steals what's been stolen only to put it back; he lies to you only to get you back on track." Read Hermes at the Spouter Inn to find out how Hermes came to the aid of a wayward young Patterson.
The Maryland Literary Review, founded by writer Nathan Leslie, is a new and exciting online literary magazine. Check out the rest of their spring/summer edition here.
Hermes at the Spouter Inn will appear in Junk Shop Window (TBD, Alan Squire Publishing).
Featured Audio: Rose Solari reads “The Beginning, 1939”
In “The Beginning, 1939” Rose Solari’s mastery of recitation is put to the music of her capricious mother and the frantic hopes of her father who wishes to leave “no long, tight pauses for her to fill.” I’ve written before about Rose’s use of swing and rhythmic motifs in her work, elements which are alive in this poem, but what is really mesmerizing to me about “1939” is the musical image toward the end which harbors no pretense of cramming lieder into language, but instead focuses on the very physical act of her mother playing the piano:
Mikaela Lefrak Examines the Life of Maryland Poet Laureate, Grace Cavalieri
The beloved Grace Cavalieri “contains multitudes” according to Mikaela Lefrak in her newest article from WAMU taking a look at the life and career of the 10th Poet Laureate. And Ms. Lefrak treats her subject with the due respect of a life which cannot be covered succinctly in 500 words. She delivers a reverent tourists’ view of Grace Cavalieri’s life, hitting the big things: her poetry and work ethic, the passing of her husband, Kenneth Flynn, her conversion to Buddhism, and finally her new tenure as Poet Laureate.
Listen to Grace Cavalieri on the Kojo Nnamdi Show
Grace Cavalieri’s recent stop at NPR’s The Kojo Nnamdi show is now streamable. Over a substantive 22 minutes, listen to Grace talk about poetry, inspiration, and her plans as the 10th Maryland Poet Laureate.