Nina Burokas Reviews I Sing the Salmon Home, Poems from Washington State

You don’t need to be a salmon aficionado to appreciate this anthology. What drew me in was a love of place, and a curiosity about what makes this bioregion unique. I was not aware that salmon is a keystone species. In her preface, Priest explains “everything relies on [salmon]; if we want to be okay, the salmon must thrive.” What’s at risk? According to the Wild Salmon Center, “From grizzly bears to orca whales, at least 137 different species rely on the marine-rich nutrients that wild salmon provide.”

Cynthia R. Pratt reviews Bill Yake's WAYMAKING BY MOONLIGHT, New and Selected Poems

Bill Yake’s latest book of poems starts with the title poem, “Waymaking by Moonlight,” which sets the tone for, and brings us along with him, on his journey of language and metaphor. It is a trip over sometimes difficult terrain but allows the traveler to see what crosses our path at night, that which we often miss in the light. Looking up the definition of Waymaking, most dictionaries define it as providing a way, means, or solution (Yourdictionary.com). It’s important to keep this in mind since the title poem invites us on this journey. His bookend poem, “Heart Poem,” brings us back home, and recognizes we don’t have to be stepping on unstable rocks to be vulnerable.

Michael Daley reviews Gary Thompson's Broken by Water, Salish Sea Years

The more I read Broken by Water the more I find myself stopping after one or two poems, putting down the book and saying, sometimes out loud—wow, these are really great poems! (I know, I know—I can hear you saying along with my old teachers: “What the hell kind of a way is that to start a review? Tone it down already.”) Still—one after another these poems carve out a masterpiece of praise. Each one slides neatly inside its columnar sheath—the form is at one and the same time action and observation which delivers real experience as each swing of a line brings its own tension, ships us out onto the wave pattern of the Salish Sea. The best “praise of place” poems give poets a chance to step out of the poem or to be a minor character. Yet the praises here deliver a poet’s range between joy in the paradise of the sea and terror in unexpectedly striking land.

Diane Urbani de la Paz reviews "The Madrona Project, Volume II, Number 1"

Shaped like a coloring book, The Madrona Project, Volume II, Number 1, invites the reader to open it up at a random spot. Found inside are vivid poems, stories and reflections—scenes from one strange and lonesome year. We have before us some five dozen writers, unfurling their thoughts, without fear, across these spacious 123 pages.

“I hope our songs will spark your imagination, rekindle, and breathe life into these embers of hope,” Hughes writes. “Together, may we envision a future that hears and honors all our voices.”

Larry Crist reviews The Madrona Project Vol. I: A Festschrift for Clemens Starck

A Festschrift for Clemens Starck is a wonderful tribute and introduction to this long under-recognized poet and craftsman, and I’m looking forward to tracking down more of his work in the near future.

Book Reviews