Stephen Oliver makes a turn in language in his latest release, Deadly Pollen, a collection of new and recently published poems full of both original and mystical references.  Conversation, myth, image, symbol . . . all are mined for their poetic point, all wrung out to dry.
      Perhaps the most approachable book of Oliver's to date, Deadly Pollen is full of poems that are complete in and of themselves, yet woven together with spirituality, a sense of the magic of science.
      The author says his book "represents an ongoing exploration of damage to our larger cultural environment" and uses his work to "pay homage to historical memory." If, as Auden suggests, "poems make nothing happen," then Oliver's poetry is vital, classic, the literary equivalent of Dorothea Lange's photography. Oliver calls poetry "an exercise of loss and preservation." In Deadly Pollen, he submits his evidence to the world.

- Will Roby, Word Riot Press

"Tom Sheehan steps aside from life and looks at it from past, present, and a very personal kind of eternity, at once. In his world, life flows by along banks of sounds, and smells, and lights, and memories are just as tangible, and just as palpable as the ground beneath your feet. They do not carry you forward, these memories, you float on them. There are a lot of voyages to make with Tom’s poetry, leading you somewhere you had to go, yet didn’t know. Tom opens his arms to catch ribbons of dream and remembrance, and focuses his loving, keen eyes on details unnoticed by us who walk too fast. He rights the wrongs of general oblivion, honoring his comrades. There’s no faking in his singing of life, nothing artificial, and everything comes out truer, through doors in our hearts we too often forget to leave open. His pen is wired to our hearts. He looks life straight, unflinchingly in the eyes. But this steadfastness is born not of hardness, but of a lasting love that's grown strong and wide, like an oak that welcomes any weather, because it's given to him."

- Guillaume Destot, former editor 3amMagazine

Corey Mesler's novel, Talk: A Novel in Dialogue is available from Livingston Press or signed and/or inscribed from Burke's Book Store. $14 in paperback.
 
“ Corey Mesler’s Talk is a brilliant tour de force of a novel, witty and wise and zingy with the zeitgeist. This is indeed an auspicious fiction debut.”
                        - Robert Olen Butler, Pulitzer Prize winning author of Good Scent from a Strange Mountain
 
“ Talk is original and evocative. Mesler has a sharp ear not only for how we say things, but, more importantly, for what the words really mean. A unique reading experience.”
                        - John Grisham
 
“ Corey Mesler’s novel Talk is a terrific read, a real pleasure for book lovers and lovers of contemporary fiction. Written entirely in witty, sometimes dour dialogue, Talk cycles through the details of a bookseller’s personal life, a life that looks just about like everyone else’s—melancholy and affection, temptation and redemption, love and death in equal measures. Talk is a marvelous look at the contemporary culture, riddled with lovely asides and its fair share of jokes, almost every one of which is as affectionate and engaging as a joke can be. And you’ll be surprised how sexy a book made out of dialogue can be. It’s a wonderful, funny, touching story. Buy it and read it and you’ll be glad you did.”
                       - Frederick Barthelme, author of Moon Deluxe

Kenwood Review, a quarterly poetry journal, is currently accepting submissions. Previously published works and simultaneous submissions are accepted.  Visit http://www.kenwoodreview.com for more information about guidelines. E-mail editor@kenwoodreview.com with poetry submissions or questions.

Professional writer, editor, copywriter and proofreader for literary, scientific and technical copy. Ten years experience: list of clients available upon request. Hourly/project rates.

Nominated for a Pulitzer Prize and a Frankfurt Award. Put this freelance editor to work for you. Fiction and non-fiction. For a free sample edit (up to 10 pages) and a price quote, contact Harvey Stanbrough.

David Erlewine, an attorney and writer, has nineteen literary short stories appearing or forthcoming in twenty one print and online literary journals.  His work can be viewed at www.daviderlewine.com.  He lives in Austin, Texas and is shopping his first novel, "Furiously Ordinary," based on eight of his published stories.

Brilliant editor with solid writing/publishing experience will salvage, polish, edit, restructure, even completely rewrite your raw manuscripts. Two previous (fiction) clients won prizes and are now agented. Editor's work appears most recently in a million-copy-printed fiction anthology.

Filled with humor, wit, and delicacy, The Human Case is a fun, intelligent volume of twenty-nine shorts, parables, and heartfelt stories of desire, frustration, and surprise.

        "A remarkable voice, sophisticated, associative, humane."
—Steve Almond, author of My Life in Heavy Metal

        "The hottest, hardest-working writer on the literary ezine scene today."
—Jackie Corley, Word Riot Magazine

        "No two pieces are the same, yet all his work pokes our funny bone and tickles our conscience."
—Opium Magazine

The Human Case, published by Brainpan Publishing, is available online and at select independent bookstores. Barringer has written fiction for Epoch, Nerve, Wisconsin Review, Tatlin's Tower, In Posse Review, CrossConnect, Drunken Boat, and many others.

A seraphic foray into the very depths of human nature and the soul, Divine Murder elicits disbelief suspended by the vivid resonance experienced by the reader. Though the novel is a far cry from a simplistic moralistic exposé, you'll meet up with demonic devils and perfect angels. Available in paperback.

Enter the soulful world of Ward Kelley as he poetically pens epiphanies enriched by the historical figures of yesteryear. Venture into the very depths of humanity's history and discover the voices that speak volumes to this poet who pierces, philosophically, the souls of our past in Ward Kelley's histories of souls. Available in paperback.

After School Special is a free online novel by Jeremy C. Shipp. Running a restaurant in a haunted house with a giant rat, a man-eating fridge, a caped hobo, a smooth-talking ghost, etc. ... has never been so weird.

After the Rain:
How the West Lost the East
Read all about the crime and the corruption, the diplomacy and the money, the transition and the wars in Sam Vaknin's new anthology of his columns in Central Europe Review.