Thursday, July 22, 2021

Reviewing poetry books

So apparently, it's a lot easier to get poetry book reviews published than it is to get poems or poetry collections published.

This is based on an extensive and scientific sample: to wit, three such reviews that I've written and submitted. All three were accepted and published - and quite quickly. Beginner's luck? I write really killer reviews? Or more likely, there just aren't as many people willing to write book reviews as there are trying to get poetry published?

My sober guess is, it's the last mentioned. So if you like poetry (and if you're reading this blog, that's a pretty good assumption), think about taking up reviewing. Generally the publishers will send you free copies of books to read and review.

Anyway - it's fun, it only has to take as much time as I let it, and it supports the poetry community. So. Here are links to two of the reviews, and also to the books reviewed, both courtesy of Terrapin Books.

Kissing the Long Face of the Greyhound, by Yvonne Zipter
review at The Compulsive Reader

The Curator's Notes, by Robin Rosen Chang
review at Mom Egg Review

The third review is one I wrote several years ago, for Mary Cresswell's book Fish Stories, published in an online journal called Zoetic Press. Zoetic Press has moved to a different website and I can't find the review there. I have a query in to them, and will update either with a link, or with the text of the original review.

Books Available
The Day of My First Driving Lesson
Country Well-Known as an Old Nightmare's Stable
High-Voltage Lines
Knocking from Inside

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