Move over Old Macdonald and that rabbit that lives in that green room eating bowls of mush and make room on the shelf for some books from Need to Know Publishing, a new venture started by three dads to help explain the contemporary grown-up world to kids. The first three books off the press deal with coffee, The King and cancer, which just happens to be the second leading cause of death in the US. As the publisher states: Teaching a young child about the ducklings, chicks, and calves that all live together in the barn is fine,...
Three early summer reads: Songs Only You Know, Goodnight June and Jane Austen’s Country Life
Songs Only You Know by Sean Madigan Hoen An astonishing well-written debut from Hoen. A memoir set in Detroit in the '90s, Hoen gives us a front row seat to the trials and tribulations of an American family trying to get by. Dad is a drug addict, his sister is suicidal and his mom is trying to hold it all together while Hoen survives by immersing himself in punk rock culture. His band, Thoughts of Ionesco, is as hard core as it gets and his dreams of making it big help soften the reality all around him It is a...
Poetry from Portland – Part 2: Tavern Books
Founded by Carl Adamshick and Michael McGriff, Tavern Books is a publisher dedicated to "printing, promoting, and preserving works of literary vision." They are well aware that books are more than words and pay close attention to the design and printing in an effort to "create books that are exceptionally beautiful and a joy to hold. " They commission original artwork for every title they publish, and rightly believe that "the dialog between image and text is an essential, meaningful element of a reader’s experience." Both Adamshick and McGriff are accomplished poets in their own right who along with the Dickman twins, Michael...
Poetry from Portland – Part 1: Division Leap
We move a little south for our second offering Of Interest for National Poetry Month. This time we feature two of the shining and rising stars of the Portland poetry scene, Division Leap and Tavern Books First up: The Singing Knives. by Frank Stanford. Lost Roads Press, 1979. $200 The second edition of Stanford's first published book, originally published by Mill Mountain Press in 1971. This edition, published shortly after Stanford's death, adds two poems which did not appear in the 1971 edition, and also appends a 4 pp. afterword concerning Stanford's life and work. The cover and construction of the book differ considerably from...
When Technology Kills Language: The Word Exchange by Alena Graedon
Sometimes the word is the thing. The bridge. Sometimes we only know what we feel once it's been said. Words may be the daughters of the earth instead of heaven. but they're not dim. And even in the faintest shimmer, there is light. - Anana Johnson Alena Graedon's debut novel is a powerful harbinger of the dangers of turning too much of our lives over to technology and the barons who control it. Called "a dystopian novel for the digital age," the book grapples with the immense toll technology is taking on our language, our thoughts and our ability to communicate. Set...