Donika Kelly’s The Renunciations (Graywolf Press) sees its greatest impact when panned out to see the full picture. Zooming out adds nuance. On the whole, Kelly is, as the title suggests, rejecting the contents inside. They are framed within units of time that repeat: NOW, THEN, AFTER. The renunciations, then, are Kelly’s reckoning. This elegiac […]
Sarah Elgatian
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Gina Nutt talks terror ahead of her Mission Creek Festival 2021: Duos reading
Night Rooms is unlike anything I have ever read. So much so that I have repeated that phrase to anyone who will listen, including the author. I asked Gina Nutt, over email, light-headed at the opportunity to talk to someone I had already decided was a pioneer, how this book came to be. “I have […]
Posted inBook Reviews
Book Review: ‘Thinking Inside the Box’ by Adrienne Raphel
I love to tell people that I want to learn everything. When I was asked to read a book about the history of crossword puzzles I thought, “well, that’s not a topic I would have picked,” and agreed. When the first page told me that the crossword puzzle was invented in 1913 I could not […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
The world’s in crisis, but poetry is more accessible than ever in Iowa City
“Poetry is somewhere between jazz and bird call and computer code and ornate lacquer box and hot wrought iron and prayer and primal scream,” said Lisa Roberts, founding director of Iowa City Poetry. For seven years, Roberts has collaborated with artists around one of the most prestigious (and arguably elitist) writing capitals in the world […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Book Review: ‘Remaking Achilles: Slicing Into Angola’s History’ by Carol Tyx
Ordinarily I read one poem in a collection at a time and digest — give each piece special attention. Remaking Achilles (Hidden River Publishing) is different. I read it in one sitting. And then I read it again, sure that with a second read I would find some solution to the questions it raises. Written […]
