The strength of Black Stoicism by Morris Junior is in its simplicity of structure. The majority of poems in the collection have no rhyme and are written in blank or free verse. This technique helps Black Stoicism to feel very intimate, almost confessional: Junior tackles...

Between the Lines There Lies a Story of Me: The Lost and Found Hope Volume One is a collection of poetic works penned by author R. S. Rain. Focusing on emotive and inspirational themes, this work contains extended works with lyrical narratives and some experiences...

Bad Indian by J.C. Mehta is a riveting poetry collection that provides glimpses into the poet’s life and the struggles she faces not only as a Native American but as a woman. In the introduction, the poet brings into focus the plight Native Americans, particularly...

Bullet Points by Clarissa Clarke is, without doubt, one of the most unusual collections of poetry I have ever come across and one of the most captivating. The freestyle verses are all short, so “bullet points” describes them perfectly. The closest to a “title poem”,...

Burning the Bacon by L. Austen Johnson comprises four distinct sections of poetry – Gravity, In Memoriam, Entropy, and Parthenogenesis. These titles fascinated me before I began to read. The title poem, Burning the Bacon, is a declaration of love whilst Molded, one line of...

Matt Nagin’s Butterflies Lost Within The Crooked Moonlight is a collection of poetry that speaks about all aspects of life. The voice that crosses every page feels like defibrillation treatment. It has a commanding jolt that makes the reader sit up and take almost immediate...

Birnam Wood by José Manuel Cardona is an elegant, epic, fecund odyssey of lyrical imagery, steeped in time-honored mythic tradition and yet endlessly inventive. Cardona is alternately stentorian and coy – his imagery swells like distant thunder even as it dances. In the truest Shakespearean...

Only a small percentage of poetry can move me. I like Poe and I’m fond of Japanese Haiku. Maybe that is why I liked Paul Tait’s Boston Dialect: Volume Two so much. Most of it is sharp, insightful and to the point. But some of...

Nicole Lyons’ Blossom and Bone is an engaging collection of poems containing honest and heartfelt expressions. The language makes use of striking words that arouse intense feelings. In the poem “Melancholy”, the poet states, “Melancholy, my longest lost lover has returned, to dance with me,...

In his introduction to Bard Bart: Poetic Rhymes and Punchlines, Barton Johnson writes, “At the very least this book is a tangible part of my life’s legacy, something profoundly and intimately personal to offer to the world.” These words prove to be true because this...