Local book reviews

I remember with joy the first DCI (Drum Corps International) tournament that I attended. It was a DCI East Championship, I believe, in Allentown, Pennsylvania, sometime in the mi-1990s. I admired from afar, a huge fan of participating in marching band but, as a clarinetist, having no inroad to the drums, color guard or brass […]

Deneishia Jacobpito’s story Delicate Rain, released in April of this year, follows the short journey to healing of the main character, Francesca DeLouise (Frank). Frank has spent her life in New York City, but finally, much to the dismay of her best friend, Lynn, she decides to head west. The opening of the story is […]

After Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl became a runaway bestseller in 2012, there was a lengthy period of time during which it seemed as though every thriller written by a woman who was hailed — by the publishers, by those who wrote blurbs, by reviewers — as the next thing to read if you loved Flynn’s […]

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 […]

In the midst of the first full month of pandemic-induced sheltering, Iowans across the state were looking for ways to make sense of their situation. I’m talking deep April, when we all started realizing that there was no quick and easy way out of this. When the itch to socialize was becoming unbearable. When we […]

Somewhere around “Disney Princess Pageant,” I start to cry. “I’m Snow White / We’re telling the truth…. On the Internet / This is the best party I’ve ever been to.” If I were a gambler, I’d bet that the magic infused throughout Becca Klaver’s poetry collection, Ready for the World, released in February 2020, made […]

As the world shuts down and ultimately starts to reopen, Iowa City circles its figurative wagons, our institutions working to keep local artists and retailers engaged. Little Village reaches out for book reviews. Prairie Lights delivers books for reviewers right to their doors. I have the privilege of reading Nest, a series of heartfelt essays […]