A Book and Its Cover: Rose Solari Reviews Two New Collections of Poetry for WIRoB
Terri Ellen Cross Davis and Dan Beachy-Quick's new collections get the Rose Solari treatment in a new review which ties subject matter to cover design.
Rose Solari's latest review column for Washington Independent Review of Books tackles two stellar new collections by established small-press poets, Terry Ellen Cross Davis and Dan Beachy-Quick. As with all her reviews, Rose uses a common theme to link the subject matter of the books she is reviewing. This month, she explores how the cover design is mirrored by the poetry and vice versa.
Of Terri Ellen Cross Davis' new collection a more perfect union, Rose writes that before you read the first page you know that the poems will be "strong, elegant, embodied, female, and Black." She goes on to praise Cross Davis' incisive poetry which "[don't] waste time." In Rose's words Cross Davis' "lyricism is purposeful, her observations cut quick and sharp." Finally, Rose praises Cross Davis for her lack of "sugar-coating" particularly in poems which detail the relationship of a Black mother and son.
Of Dan Beachy-Quick's aptly titled Arrows, Rose praises a cover and forward matter that at first appear overly "precious" but, after reading the first poem and being transported "immediately into another world, an imagined ancient time where place is a meditative state of mind," capture the mood and feel of the book perfectly. Rose both praises and criticizes the classical bent of the poetry:
"Unless you’re a classicist yourself, you might need a few reference books (or handy use of online searches) to follow these poems to their landing places. But rather than being put off by that, I was grateful to feel, as I read, my mind widening to encompass the contradictory impulses, the sly jokes followed by unabashed celebration that these poems contain."
Week One of National Poetry Month 2019
National Poetry Month is upon us! This year ASP has decided to celebrate by featuring several poems each week curated by different members of the ASP team. Now that the first week is over, let’s take a look back at the poets and poems we have featured thus far.
Craving More Grace? Check out the Poet Laureate on the NEA’s “Art Works”
Craving more Grace Cavalieri? Of course you are! Maryland’s newest Poet Laureate is active, about, and spreading the word; that is, her words. Even though Poet Laureate is largely an honorary position (it is unpaid, and one is “honored” more with a title than a job much like a knighthood or a medal of freedom), Grace Cavalieri seems determined to become the most active and community-focused Poet Laureate in Maryland’s history. Recently she was featured on Art Works the official podcast for the National Endowment for the Arts.
Grace Cavalieri’s Interview on Midday with Tom Hall
Grace Cavalieri stopped by WYPR last week for an interview on “Midday” with Tom Hall. The Poet Laureate and author of ASP’s Other Voices, Other Lives, mused on her life and work, meditating on the loss of her late husband, and reading from her deep poetry catalog. This interview is well worth the 40 minutes it takes to impart the important wisdom of one of Maryland’s foremost sages.