Elizabeth Hazen Shares Her Tsundoku (Poetry books to Read) In a new blog post, Elizabeth Hazen shares her tsundoku. Tsundoku is a Japanese word meaning "Acquiring reading materials but letting them pile up in one's home without reading them." For Christmas, which seems like three lifetimes ago, my parents gave my husband a book of interesting words from around the world*. An engineer who has a soft spot for spoonerisms, puns, and wordplay in every form, he found instant delight in this book. Did you know that Germans have a word for the weight we gain from … [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...]

A New Rose Reads Highlights the Wonderful Novel BILLY CHRISTMAS On this episode Rose reads from Billy Christmas and tells her story about meeting author Mark Pritchard at an open mic in Oxford. In this episode of Rose Reads, Rose recalls meeting the author Mark Pritchard at an open mic in Oxford and subsequently publishing his first novel, Billy Christmas. Billy Christmas is an any-age YA book. Parents, teens, adults, everybody love Billy Christmas' humorous and earnest style. Through May every ASP book is half-price!!! Free shipping in the USA!!! Buy Billy Christmas Check out the … [Read more...]

Rose Solari Reviews Four Poetry Collections Dealing with Grief Solari's anticipated monthly poetry column in the Washington Independent Review of Books dropped today. She tackles four new collections by women poets dealing with grief. Read the Full review over on the WIRob This month, Rose Solari's column for the Washington Independent Review of Books looks at three shining new collections from new and established poets, as well as the best of Jane Kenyon. Each collection, in a way, deals with grief (from her review): "Grief is a perennial subject for poets, and for good reason: … [Read more...]

Hazen Discusses the Comforts of Poetry in Uncertain Times In a guest post on The Bookworm, Elizabeth Hazen, author of "Girls Like Us," discusses the power of reading and writing poetry in uncertain times. In a guest post for the small book review blog, The Bookworm, Elizabeth Hazen discusses the role poetry occupies in her life during uncertain times as with the 2016 inauguration and #MeToo movement, and now the COVID 19 epidemic. She also explains her relationship to her new collection Girls Like Us. While in her first collection, Chaos Theories, she used "a filter through which … [Read more...]

James J. Patterson Shares a New Essay on Episode 7 of LFTRR Hobnob with your favorite fellow wizard on episode 7 of Live from the Reading Room The latest episode of James J. Patterson's LFTRR revisits one of our favorite recurring characters, the trickster deity Hermes. "Hermes is a crazy cat," says Patterson, "He steals what's been stolen only to put it back; he lies to you only to get you back on track." The essay, "Hermes at the Kakistocracy Hotel," will appear in Patterson's upcoming collection, Junk Shop Window. Check out episodes of Live from the Reading Room every Monday … [Read more...]

Rose Reads Covers the Music of Writing On this episode of Rose Reads, poet Rose Solari dissects the verse of Reuben Jackson, Ellen Cole, Brandon Johnson, and others in order to understand the role music plays in the meaning and beauty of a poem. Rose Reads goes live on her Facebook page every Wednesday 4PM EDT 50% ASP BookStore Noir at the Bar May 15th Buy The Last Girl Buy Scattered Clouds Rose's Facebook … [Read more...]