Poetry & Sex
The Poetry of Sex: From Sappho to Carol Ann Duffy by Brian Arkins. Peter Lang, 133 pages, 2023. Reviewed by Kevin T McEneaney The bibliography of this book has more books cited than there are pages in this densely written ...
Local History: What a Read!
Historic Tales of the Harlem Valley: Life at the End of the Line. Tonia Shoumatoff. History Press, 2023, 202 pages. by Kevin T. McEneaney I admit I am not a local history buff, yet Tonia Shoumatoff’s book is written with ...
When the vacuum is full
by Kevin T McEneaney Empty American Letters: the Bulgarian novel by Thomas McGonigle. Spuyten Duyvil Press. 316 pages, 2022. Pub. Oct 6, 2022. There is nothing empty here in McGonigle’s sixth novel, unless it’s the empty vacuum American pop culture ...
Will the real Quichotte Please Stand UP?
After Salman Rushdie's lecture on composing his his novel Quichotte (the proper period pronunciation is in the title, before the royal lisp was adopted) at Bard College Sosnoff Theater, I went backstage, chatted with him; he was open, amusing, his ...
Believing in Art
Towards a Credo. Brian Arkins. Little Gull Publishers. 36 pages. 2022. Reviewed by Kevin T McEneaney Brian Arkins is not only Ireland’s leading Greek and Latin scholar, he is also well-known for shedding light on Irish poetry, plays, and Anglo-Irish ...
When the last are first
New and Selected Poems, 1996-2020. Donald Gardner. Grey Suit. 225 pages. Reviewed by Kevin T McEneaney One of the reasons most people don’t read poetry is that poets take themselves too seriously: serious about their craft, subjects chosen, their advanced ...
Outside Looking In
Book cover: The Subway, painting by José Clemente Orozco (1928) This is the first installment of reviews of lesser-known books which mainstream publications are likely to overlook. The Bulgarian Psychiatrist by Thomas McGonigle. Spuyten Duyvil Press. 2022. 116 pages. $18 ...
Antics of a Shamanic Librarian
Book cover From Deadbeat to Dean: Underground: A Memoir. Peter McDonald. Library Juice Press, Sacramento, CA, 2022. by Tonia Shoumatoff Peter McDonald’s saga about his peregrinations from punk rock promoter to dean of a major university library system in California ...
Homer’s Odyssey, Book One
In 1991 I acquired the paperback edition of A Commentary on Homer’s Odyssey by Stephen Huebeck, Stephanie West, and J.B. Hainsworth, which had first appeared in hardback from Clarendon in 1988. I spent two years doing my own translation. Since ...
What are friends for?
Book cover Dear Old Friends: A Loving Reminder the Band won’t stop playing till you stop dancing. James B Flaherty. Amazon. Review by Kevin T McEneaney Addressing the challenges of old age with savvy and charm, Flaherty @ jamesbflaherty.com, provides ...