When it comes to writing, a friend's comment has guided me whenever I've reviewed a book or thought about my own work. It's not the size of the book that matters but the distance the reader travels in a sentence (I'm sure he borrowed that idea from someone). I kept thinking about that insight as … Continue reading What does poetry mean? A talk with Michael Odom
Category: Books
Books, new and old, in fiction and nonfiction.
Reviews of Dan Brown’s latest … ugh
Another Dan Brown novel, another pack of smug reviews. Here’s my confession: I’m already sick of the reviews of Brown’s "Inferno," and the book only pubbed a day ago. Reviewers say that Brown doesn’t do anything new in his latest, but here’s the thing: neither do they. The criticisms are predictable; the angles are all … Continue reading Reviews of Dan Brown’s latest … ugh
Carol Ann Duffy’s songs of the Earth
It almost sounds like British laureate Carol Ann Duffy is responding to news headlines about bee populations and cellphone usage when she says: Where bees pray on their knees, sing, praise In pear trees, plum trees; bees Are the batteries of orchards, gardens, guard them. Guard them—against what? Cell phones? Against our environmental ignorance? Duffy … Continue reading Carol Ann Duffy’s songs of the Earth
Nick Owchar 
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