Grace Cavalieri’s “The Poet and The Poem” Receives Grant From MD Humanities The Other Voices, Other Lives author says of the grant, "It seems like a modest amount, but if you need that amount, it is abundant.” More About the Poet and the Poem GRace's Book: Other Voices, Other Lives MD Poet laureate, 2-time Ginsberg Prize winner, and WIRoB lifetime achievement honoree, Grace Cavalieri, received her latest honor this Tuesday, a $1000 grant, for her long-running radio program and podcast, The Poet and the Poem. The grant comes from Maryland Humanities whose aim is to "support … [Read more...]

Episode 15 of LFTRR Examines Kickass Female Characters in Three Novels What do contemporay novels A SECRET WOMAN, THE SILVER GIRL, and DETHRONED have in common? Each prominently features strong female characters. James J. Patterson extends his string of excellent episodes concerning women writers of literature. On this, the fifteenth(!) episode of LFTRR, he looks at three contemporary novels dear to his heart, all of which feature strong-willed female characters. Purchase A Secret Woman Purchase Dethroned Purchase Silver Girl … [Read more...]

In a New Interview, Rose Solari Opens up about Publishing and Writing in the era of COVID "At the beginning of ASP we were told 'You'd be lucky if you made it 3-5 years.'" 10 years and a million trials later, poet and ASP co-founder Rose Solari delivers this extremely honest interview to author Kathy Rampsberger Author Kathy Rampsberger conducts this incredible digital interview as part of her "Story Hour" series. It's been months now since the start of the COVID 19 pandemic and much has changed in the landscape of publishing and writing. Always attuned to change and always in … [Read more...]

James J. Patterson Reads HUIDEKOPER on the new LFTRR Patterson's story about a group home of artists and musicians first appeared in BERMUDA SHORTS In this episode of LFTRR, James J. Patterson reads "HUIDEKOPER", a story about a wild group home full of artists and musicians.  In clothing, Bermuda shorts are a kind of casual formal wear – and in this collection of essays, Bermuda Shorts is the perfect metaphor for James J. Patterson’s fundamentally serious but playful literary style. Patterson grew up with a foot planted in each of two worlds, one in Washington DC, and one … [Read more...]

Rose Reads, Writing about Art and an UPDATE The 12th episode of Rose Reads brings us writings on Art and an update on the show, *The Richard Peabody Reader is currently 25% off from the ASP Store and all US domestic shipping is free* On the 12th episode of Rose Reads, Rose Solari goes in-depth on writers writing about writing and art. She reads from her own novel which contains a good deal of beautiful prose about visual art, A Secret Woman, and the extraordinary short work of Richard Peabody as found in The Richard Peabody Reader. SPOILER ALERT: Rose Reads is changing … [Read more...]

New LFTRR Tackles the Question: Should We Write? In this episode James J. Patterson reads from Simone de Beauvoir and DC's bookworm philosopher Richard Peabody In this episode of Live from the Reading Room, James J. Patterson reads selections from Simone de Beauvoir's The Mandarins and Richard Peabody's The Richard Peabody Reader all in pursuit of answering the question: Should I write? The Richard Peabody Reader is a wide-ranging selection of this great writer’s poetry and prose, filling an important gap in the literary world. As a publisher, Peabody’s steadfast … [Read more...]

The Johns Hopkins Review Publishes two Poems by Elizabeth Hazen "Circling" and "Imperatives" both appear in Elizabeth Hazen's full-length collection GIRLS LIKE US Read the Poems Check out Girls Like Us Two poems from Elizabeth Hazen's new collection Girls Like Us have been published in the spring edition of the esteemed Hopkins Review. Hazen, a graduate of the Hopkins Writing Seminars, has been receiving a lot of attention as of late for her collection Girls Like Us. New reviews in Lit Pub and The Literary Review rave about her "Precision-tool craft with … [Read more...]

James J. Patterson Reads from MELANIE’S SONG on Latest LFTRR The new mystery novel by ASP's Joanna Biggar is given the Patterson treatment in Episode 11 of Live from the Reading Room Missed an episode of LFTRR? Melanie's song is 25% off this week only “Melanie’s Song is an unputdownable, riveting feat of storytelling.” Set in the era of Woodstock and Watergate, Melanie’s Song centers on a young woman’s mysterious disappearance, and on her friend’s determined search for her. Melanie, who fled her marriage to a straight-laced classical musician in order to hitch-hike to … [Read more...]

TLR Delivers a Stellar Review of GIRLS LIKE US Michael Quinn of TLR traces the arc of Elizabeth Hazen's new collection "The Last Girl" and discovers the ways in which "Absence asserts permanence." Read the full review from TLR Buy Girls Like Us A new review this week from The Literary Review traces the arc of Elizabeth Hazen's Girls Like Us from a "[focus] primarily on the self, [to] poems [that] are gradually consumed by a responsibility to others, primarily through motherhood and its all-consuming need to provide for and protect." Motherhood, womanhood, girlhood, … [Read more...]

Lit Pub Raves about Hazen's Girls Like Us in New Review Hazen's opus gets a well-deserved lauding from rising literary star Nandini Bhattacharya. Read the Full Review Buy Girls Like Us More from Bhattacharya October 2020 was a tough time to release a book. In fact, next to August 1929 and February 2007, October 2020 might have been the worst time to release a book in modern history. Fortunately for Elizabeth Hazen, Girls Like Us has seemed to find staying power in the minds of critics. Nandini Bhattacharya's new review of the collection sheds special light on the skill and … [Read more...]

An introduction to Rita Dove by Grace Cavalieri In a stunning video, Grace covers the life and work of the first female of color US Poet Laureate "If critics look at a literary model of a balanced life, the thinking, feeling, sensual, and intuitive, this can be seen as a template for Rita Dove’s writing." Grace Cavalieri's new web series "20th-Century Poets Commentaries" is off to a strong start with introductions and commentaries on such poets as Robert Hayden, Ted Kooser, Robert Pinsky, and Josephine Jacobsen. Rita Dove, the first female of color to hold the vaunted position of US … [Read more...]

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" Read the full essay in the Maryland Literary Review Buy James J. Patterson's first book of essays "Bermuda Shorts" 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 … [Read more...]

The Ongoing Relevance of Reuben Jackson's "For Trayvon Martin" The tragic death of Trayvon Martin is as relevant today as it was in 2012 as is Reuben's most anthologized poem "For Trayvon Martin." Scattered Clouds Bail Funds In Reuben Jackson's reimagining of the night Trayvon Martin was murdered, Jackson cast himself as the boy's guardian angel, leading him home and out of harm's way. Instead of sleeping— I walk with him from the store. No Skittles, thank you. We do not talk much— Sneakers crossing the courtyard. Humid Southern night. We shake hands and hug— Ancient, stoic … [Read more...]

Black Voices Matter (Rose Reads #10) Lucille Clifton, Won't You Celebrate With Me https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem... Cornelius Eady, Sherbet https://poets.org/poem/sherbet Natasha Tretheway, Myth https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem... Reuben Jackson, Kelly Recalls 1963 https://www.splitthisrock.org/poetry-... Teri Cross Davis, Crescendo https://poets.org/poem/crescendo Brian Gilmore, o Canada https://www.thesunmagazine.org/issues... E. Ethelbert Miller, Is This the History of Air? http://www.capitalcommunitynews.com/c... Hayes Davis, Urgent Care … [Read more...]

James J. Patterson Discusses his Favorite Early Feminists on episode 9 of LFTRR Neither Bertha Von Suttner nor Adrienne Lecouvreur are the subjects of comprehensive biographies. In this episode of Live from the Reading Room, James J. Patterson discusses two of his favorite early feminist icons, Bertha Von Suttner and Adrienne Lecouvreur. Please SHARE this video if you are able. More from LFTRR Buy Bermuda Shorts … [Read more...]

Rose Reads #9 Heralds the Good Works of SFWP More from SFWP Books by Rose Solari On this special episode of Rose Reads, Rose Solari discusses books from fellow small press, Santa Fe Writer's Project, run by publisher, Andrew Gifford. Rose reads from two wonderful books, Wendy J. Fox's If the Ice had Held and eightball by Elizabeth Geoghegan. SFWP checkout code: SOLARI for 25% off If the Ice had Held: https://sfwp.com/project/ice/ eightball: https://sfwp.com/project/eightball/ ASP bookstore, all titles 50% off until June 1 with free shipping in the states: https://bit.ly/aspbookstore … [Read more...]

Episode 8 of LFTRR Explains the “First Page Test” James J. Patterson is the reluctant scholar and on this (the eighth!) episode of Live from the Reading Room, he reads the from his essay of the same name. He also reads from books that have passed his "First Page Test" including "Night Train to Lisbon" by Pascal Mercier, "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald, "The Muse" by Jessie Burton, "The Tropic of Cancer" by Henry Miller, and "Confessions" by Jean-Jaques Rousseau. Buy Bermuda Shorts Buy Roughnecks … [Read more...]

The Literary Review Raves about Grace Cavalieri’s Other Voices, Other Lives Read the Full Review Buy Other Voices, Other Lives A new review of Grace Cavalieri's Legacy Book, Other Voices, Other Lives, was recently published in the long-running literary magazine The Literary Review. Author Karin Falcone Krieger calls Grace Cavalieri "a living legend" in their glowing review of the book. Fascinated by Grace Cavalieri's interpolated interviews with US Poets Laureate, Falcone lauds "[Other Voices, Other Lives] opens doors to so many other authors’ work, it creates a reading list … [Read more...]