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Rose Solari reads "Margaret in Oxford" from her debut novel A Secret Woman Event Notification: Rose Solari and David Gewanter at Second Story Books in DC this Weekend! "[In A Secret Woman,] Rose Solari explores the eternal literary theme of self — who we are, who are the ones we love, and how we invent and reinvent these people, trying always to paint ourselves into the vast canvas of life and history. A very promising fiction debut." Robert Olen Butler Robert Olen Butler loves Rose Solari's debut work of fiction for its sense of the eternity. This is one of the many reasons all of Rose … [Read more...]

"On the Road, Columbia, South Carolina, Spring 1959" A Poem by Reuben Jackson "There's much said in what's not said in Reuben Jackson's poetry. His cleverly sparse style often convincingly veils the complexities of which he writes, just until the poet sharply corrects our deception." Linda Stiles Those deceptions Ms. Stiles refers to above often come from Reuben's use of the child's point of view. As a child, the narrator, and reader by proxy, is looking up at the absurdity of adult interests and actions with a renewed curiosity. The narrator misses the cut of the barber's words when asked … [Read more...]

Radio Nights by Reuben Jackson ASP is proud to premier the new Reuben Jackson poem, "Radio Nights."  From Reuben: As I mentioned during the interview with Rose Solari, my childhood love for radio was two fold: It was (and still is, kinda…) a gateway to new music, and it provided programmers a chance to work with the musical qualities inherent in what we now often refer to as the spoken word. This unpublished poem is a nod (or another nod) to the magic of the medium, and a curious child’s life in Washington, D.C.  Radio Nights  Left hand working the dial quietly ….  quietly (My parents … [Read more...]

Reuben Jackson Reads "Second Grade" "Reuben Jackson's poems are gateways to possible worlds. With the finesse of a real sleight-of-hand artist, he transforms the truly personal—hopes, dreams, desires—into universal memories." Richard Peabody Reuben Jackson is a treasure trove of memories. In his brilliant interview with Rose Solari over on the ASP Podcast, he recalls childhood with a fully-formed, grown-into clarity. As with his poem, "fingering the keys," there is a vivacity in the memories he shares with us about second grade which seems to extend beyond puberty, college, marriage, … [Read more...]

Love is a Fool Star I am guilty of interjecting (constantly interjecting) quotations and metaphors into conversations. More than a few friends will confirm this. Here’s one from the internationally celebrated saxophonist-composer-bandleader-poet And playwright Archie Shepp . I think it captures both my inner (you know, the mill where poems often struggle to find their way to the end of the assembly line) and outer lives perfectly. “I passed through the insipid panorama of Americana with an enormous romanticism. It has never left me.” If I could fit that on a headstone, baby- I would. My … [Read more...]