Tag: Esteban Rodriguez

Esteban Rodríguez Reviews Edinburgh Notebook, an Action Books poetry collection by Valerie Mejer Caso

There is no telling what anyone’s reaction to death will be, but for many putting pen to paper helps process the void that is felt in someone’s absence. For Valerie Mejer Caso, Edinburgh Notebook is a testament to the power of language’s ability to heal and to help come close to answering the questions we…
Esteban Rodríguez on The Tenant of Fire, an award-winning University of Pittsburgh Press Press poetry collection by Ryan Black

The writer Jay McInerney once said that every generation needed a Manhattan novel, one that captured the culture and sentiment of the time. While his novel Bright Lights, Big City was quite innovative with the use of the second person, as well as with its insight into the publishing industry and New York’s vibrant night…
Esteban Rodríguez on Alen Hamza’s CSU Poetry Center debut collection Twice There Was a Country

Winner of the 2019 Cleveland State University Poetry Center First Book Competition, Alen Hamza’s Twice There Was A Country is a collection that reminds us that regardless of the past or the circumstances we find currently ourselves in, it’s never too late to reconnect with who we are and where we came from. While Hamza’s…
Horsepower, a University of Pittsburgh Press poetry collection by Joy Priest, reviewed by Esteban Rodríguez

Every state carries with it certain perceptions that often gloss over the nuances of what it has to offer. Coming from Texas, the stereotypes range anywhere from wearing boots, riding horses, to the expectation that everything must be larger. Kentucky undoubtedly has its share of generalizations, but when you encounter a poet like Joy Priest,…
Rift Zone, a Red Hen Press poetry collection by Tess Taylor, reviewed by Esteban Rodríguez

Given the way history is inadequately taught throughout schools across the country, it’s safe to assume that it would be a challenge for anyone to recount at least a half-detailed history of their hometown. For 18 years, I never knew that Harlon Block Park in my hometown of Weslaco, Texas, was named after one of…
Esteban Rodríguez on Arrows, Dan Beachy-Quick’s seventh poetry collection (Tupelo Press)

At its core, poetry seeks to examine the relationship between things, and although there are many ways in which poets achieve this, no one quite does it as thoughtfully as Dan Beachy-Quick. The author of six previous poetry collections, Beachy-Quick’s newest book Arrows explores love, faith, philosophy, the constraints and usefulness of language, and the…
Esteban Rodríguez on The Trilogy, an Action Books poetry collection by Bruno K. Öijer

Horace Engdahl, the former Permanent Secretary of the Swedish Academy, once said that the United States was too isolated from the literary world and didn’t translate enough to participate in larger literary conversations. The statement was not met without controversy, but considering the fact that less than 3% of books published in the United States…
Catrachos, a Graywolf Press debut poetry collection by Roy G. Guzmán, reviewed by Esteban Rodríguez

Not too long ago, I described to a friend that the poetry of B.H. Fairchild was “muscular,” a word that I wasn’t too fond of—mainly because it felt a bit unnatural to assign bodily characteristics to poetry, not to mention that it implies a certain masculinity that might be unwarranted—but one that I used to…
Undoll, a YesYes Books National Poetry Series debut collection by Tanya Grae, reviewed by Esteban Rodríguez

After finishing a book, it’s not uncommon for readers to express how they were left wanting more, wishing, for example, that an author would have expanded on a certain section or added to the themes explored. The often quoted saying by Paul Valéry is that a poem is never complete, but merely abandoned, and the…
Heed the Hollow, a Graywolf Press debut poetry collection by Malcolm Tariq, reviewed by Esteban Rodríguez

There is something about the body that makes it an endless source for the written word. Whether exploring the body’s physical aspects, its changing implications in a changing society, or the fact that it’s seen by many (particularly in a religious context) as a flawed vessel we must navigate in in order to reach a…

Tag: Esteban Rodriguez

Esteban Rodríguez Reviews Edinburgh Notebook, an Action Books poetry collection by Valerie Mejer Caso

Esteban Rodríguez on The Tenant of Fire, an award-winning University of Pittsburgh Press Press poetry collection by Ryan Black

Esteban Rodríguez on Alen Hamza’s CSU Poetry Center debut collection Twice There Was a Country

Horsepower, a University of Pittsburgh Press poetry collection by Joy Priest, reviewed by Esteban Rodríguez

Rift Zone, a Red Hen Press poetry collection by Tess Taylor, reviewed by Esteban Rodríguez

Esteban Rodríguez on Arrows, Dan Beachy-Quick’s seventh poetry collection (Tupelo Press)

Esteban Rodríguez on The Trilogy, an Action Books poetry collection by Bruno K. Öijer

Catrachos, a Graywolf Press debut poetry collection by Roy G. Guzmán, reviewed by Esteban Rodríguez

Undoll, a YesYes Books National Poetry Series debut collection by Tanya Grae, reviewed by Esteban Rodríguez

Heed the Hollow, a Graywolf Press debut poetry collection by Malcolm Tariq, reviewed by Esteban Rodríguez