Authors - S
Michael Salcman's The Color That Advances (Camber Press, 2003) is a wonderful set of 16 ekphrastic poems, half of them based on Eakins' portraits. As Tom Lux says, his " poems amaze me. Not for their knowledge of painting and medicine, though the knowledge is prodigious and beautifully rendered. Not for their craft, which is excellent. It's because of the crazy heart in these poems. It's because of the poems' tenderness and terrors, and their unique, but never morbid, sense of how fast time flees, and why what is most human about humans is so important." Click on poet's name to see all of his books or read a poem from this book by clicking here.
M.A. Schaffner brings us rueful, smart, unsentimental yet moving meditations in his The Good Opinion of Squirrels (Word Works, 1996). There is dark humor here, and carefully crafted formal poems of great skill dot the lyric narrative landscape of insightful free verse. Another Life (Small Poetry Press, 1997), by Lin Schlossman, is a 47 page chapbook of her finely wrought poems of memory and personal history in both free and formal verse. There are some really fine sonnets here.
E.M Schorb's volume of new and selected poems, Time and Fevers (Author House, 2004), is a meaty 265 pages, of poems and prose poems by this celebrated North Carolina poet. Rich with humor and intelligence, these poems tackle just about every subject in the galaxy. Heather McHugh says, "This is the work of a mature intelligence, its ironies unadulterated by cynicism and its swells informed by understatement." See: http://www.emschorb.com
The Owl Question (Utah State, 2002), by Faith Shearin, was selected by Mark Doty for the 2002 May Swenson Award. Doty describes it as "a lovely, trustworthy first book, full of affection and wry clarity, ‘all life’s finite hope leaning closer for a kiss.’" The poet’s mastery of imagery and delicate utterance is amazingly lovely and emotionally moving. Highly recommended. (added 2006)
*** Maureen A. Sherbondy has authored the delightful chapbook, After the Fairy Tale (Main Street Rag, 2007), imaginative portrayals of what happens to our fairytale protagonists later on (middle-aged, old, retired, at the arcade, at the Ford dealership, etc.)after the official tale has ended. 34 pages. And Praying at Coffee Shops (Main Street Rag, 2008) relates the Jewish experience in the South, with tales of Bar Mitzvahs, High Holidays, prayers at synagogue, Sukkoth holidays, and the poet’s memory of a childhood visit to a mikveh (ritual bath) It is charming and nostalgic and ends with a clever prose piece in which "God Becomes a Poet." (40 pages) (Updated 2/08).
When There Is No Shore (Word Press, 2002) and Devil's Lane (Negative Capability Press, 1996) collect some of the prize-winning Vivian Shipley's accurate and persuasive narrative poetry. Her clear, expansive joyous verse focuses on family life and relationships. The poet is also editor of the esteemed Connecticut Review.
Enid Shomer has authored four collections of poetry: Stalking the Florida Panther (Word Works, 1987), This Close to the Earth (Arkansas, 1992), Black Drum (Arkansas, 1997), and Stars at Noon (Arkansas, 2001), which gives voice to the first woman to fly faster than sound. Hers is a poetry of image and metaphor that open to startling leaps of association, of beautifully wrought formal verse and elegant, passionate lyrics. (added 2006)
Syracuse poet Helen Shrier has a 36 page chapbook , The Gleam of Open Doors (1994), and a full collection, Stones In The Bridge (Mellen Poetry Press, 1998), subtitled A Jewish Woman's Crossing. These Biblically-based poems sing like psalm and prayer. Helene excels at bringing the reader fully into her tender, real poems , whatever their subject, and making the reader care.
Shoshauna Shy is author of the 24 page chapbook Souped-Up on the Must-Drive Syndrome (Pudding House, 2000).. These poems reflect our hectic lives where the world is halfway to chaos and not even our homes are safe havens of rest. The poet has a keen, observant eye.
Stereopticon
(Threshold Press, 2000) is poet and artist Michael Sickler's 32 page limited edition chapbook. This collection reflects the diversity of this poet's multi-layered poetry. The skillful layout of the poems adds to the dramatic effect of each gem-like poem. And his new Greatest Hits (Pudding House, 2005), a sparkling dozen of the poet's best work, is outstanding.Wreckage on a Watery Moon (FootHills 2006) by Jamaican-American poet Mary McLaughlin Slechta evokes the many images of death, especially that of her of her father which she sees in various guises: a dog hearing "bad news," a surgeon's in ICU, a tattooed man. The possibility of other deaths must be faced as well, as in the powerful poem "Driving Lesson". This poetry mesmerizes with its honesty, its intensity and its music as it chronicles the redeeming face of loss. There is also a previous first-rate chapbook, Buried Bones (FootHills 2004, Springfed Chapbook #30). A review describes this poetry as "mesmerizing" and so it is. It goes on to say, "She delves into the body and memory, racism and sexism, and gets to the other side." For sample poems of this poet, click here. (added 2006)
Barbara Smith's Demonstrative Pronouns (Mountainechoes.com Books, 2006), reverberates with the West Virginia twang of this Appalachian poet as she highlights the poetic in everyday life. She's exuberant and spirited, strong and edgy. (added 9/06)
Cheryl Snell brings us Flower Half-Blown (Finishing Line, 2002) and Epithalamion (Little Poem Press, 2004), the former a 25 page chapbook of varied and beautifully imaged lyric narratives, and the latter a 64 page collection with an unusual binding. Inside it's vintage Snell but more surreal, and with more Hindu content and themes. Again, she stuns us with her imagery.
Outside the Kremlin (Nightshade Press, 1996) won the 1995 winner of the William & Kingman Page chapbook award\ for poet Margo Solod.. Vivid imagery and well-controlled use of form mark these poems in this fast-paced and attention-grabbing story of a two month visit to Russia during the tumultuous autumn of 1993.
*** Lianne Spidel is the author of Chrome (Finishing Line, 2006), a chapbook of finely-crafted intelligent poems that comprise a combination of elegy to her father and varied ekphrasis: origami, still lives, Van Gogh, the painting of cars, museum catalogs, cantatas. Humanly warm and intimate, the poems question the role of art as preserver and, in so doing, create their own fine art, (added 3/08)
Richard St. John's The Pure Inconstancy of Grace (Truman State, 2005) is a collection of intelligent, mature poems replete with fine cultural allusions and precise, intricately structured language. They find grace even as they struggle with the great spiritual questions. And they are elegant in their formal presentation. (added 12/05)
Beyond Flight (1986) is a 24 page limited edition chapbook of love poems by Syracuse poet Mary Stebbins and art work by Gregory K. Williams. These poems of shattered dreams are built on the wonderful nature metaphors that this poet is famous for -- a painful, totally honest book.
Half-Moon of Clay (Finishing Line Press, 2006) comes from the pen of Oregon poet Dianne Stepp. Nature is a constant theme here (flowers, seasons, the stars) and a strong sense of place informs the poems. Each poem flows in its observation of sight and emotion, the language rich and compelling. The chapbook is thirty pages, nineteen poems. (added 11/1/06)
Drawing Water (Bull Thistle Press, 1992), is a small collection of wonderful poetry by F. Bjornson Stock. Although its overall range of subject is wide, most spectacular are the poems about the poet's troubled relationship with his father.
Virgil Suarez' You Come Singing (Tia Chucha, 1998) contains high-octane, feverishly energized poems that cut to the bone and heart of memory and recollection as they speak of the dislocation and alienation born of exile. An original and exciting collection.
Embellishments (Chatoyant, 2003), the stand-out debut book by Virginia Chase Sutton, tells a harrowing tale of dysfunctionality in such a way that commands empathy from its readers. Intimate, fierce, totally honest and moving, these poems of witness are filled with exquisitely imaginative detail, sensuous language and fresh, vivid diction as they weave their tale of alcoholism and incest, of small joys and great losses. This book both disturbs and illuminates. She follows this with the winner of the 2007 Samuel French Morse Poetry prize, What Brings You to Del Amo (Northeastern University Press, 2007), an exploration of mental illness and hospital treatment, notable for its vivid language, high energy, and unique perceptions. The book is riveting and, as Charlie Harper Webb says, "a good read." in its ability to pull the reader along.. (revised 11/07)