Saturday, March 29, 2014

Big Poetry Giveaway 2014: Three Books & One Lit Mag

I have been looking for an excuse to post for a while, so Kelli Russell Agodon's Big Poetry Giveaway 2014 was the perfect thing to bring me back to the ranks of blogger. Giving someone else a book they might never have otherwise picked up is a real thrill. If you'd like to participate this year, check out this post on Kelli's blog for more info. Comment with your email on this post if you'd like to be in the drawing for any of these books. If you already have one of these books, write the titles in your comment so I won't include you in those drawings.

Sever the Braid by Jessica Server (Finishing Line Press)

What folks are saying about this amazing chapbook:

Though it's Server's first chapbook, it's not out of place on my bookshelf among poets like Jennifer Maier, Terrance Hayes, and Jim Daniels. Her poems are deliberate, tight, and brilliant in the sense that not only is her voice perfected, but she captures moments from the past, makes them visceral, as if I can reach out and hold them. Alison Taverna

...Jessica Server shifts between rich depictions girlhood and womanhood through various lyrical narratives and portraits. We meet an uprooted child, a world traveler, a novice baker, a Jewish faith seeker, among others, weaving a non-linear tale of a woman with a wild and thoughtful heart that overflows with a sensual song. —Laura E. Davis

Braiding the Storm by Laura E. Davis (Finishing Line Press)

Braiding the Storm by Laura Davis is an afternoon with a best friend who knows all of our secrets, and makes us consider the world—even the everyday tangle of bed sheets, bitten fingernails, and dishes in the sink—as completely new, and brilliant.
—Mary Biddinger

A tender, tough poet's heart, sweet with moments chosen and delivered, here, creates a nourishing gift from the grit of life. Ms. Davis invites us to "Slice the day." This is a world where "The Centipede" takes / the shape / of a leach / a black salamander / a small oil spill / opalescent. I look forward to her next collection, wondering where she might turn her thirty-something poet's being.Karen Lewis



Hemming the Water by Yona Harvey (Four Way Books)

This amazing debut collection won the the Kate Tufts Discovery Award. I recently purchased a copy and I can't put it down.

How to make a form when there is no form? Nothing you can count on? Hers is not an easy art—nor is it harmless. She sets out to accomplish an impossible task, Hemming the Water. Music is the only thing she can turn to, and poetry is the exquisite stitch that turns the forces against us to our advantage. Read this book again (there is not one predictable line!) to appreciate even more its fierce elegance, and the joy of its triumph. —Toi Derricotte

This poetry remembers the Devil is make-believe until he knocks at your loved one’s door. This poetry watches a baby’s heartbeat turn into a bomb with the gentlest nudge of alphabet. This poetry insists on sewing thimbles and mountains into the same tight pocket. Take this poetry. And read .—Douglas Kaerney

Weave Magazine Issue 10!

This is Weave's biggest yet! Within its pages, you'll experience everything from high school sororities to life as a caveman. Moving poetry, fluid prose, and enthralling nonfiction will have you hooked from page one. We're honored to have had the chance to publish so much extraordinary writing and artwork. This issue features work by Kelli Russell Agodon, Michael W Cox, James Pouilliard, Valerie Loveland, Eunice E. Tiptree, M.E. Silverman, Laura Madeline Wiseman, and more. See the full contributor list here.

Be sure to comment at the bottom with a way to contact you if you're a winner. If you already have any of these books, simply let me know in the comments and I won't include you in those drawings.