Good News Department

I've had three pieces of good news this past week. First is an excellent review of my book, Temptation by Water. The reviewer, Maryanne Hannan, has done a wonderful job with the review which appears in Innisfree Poetry Journal, a very fine online journal devoted to poetry and 2-3 book reviews. I particularly like this review as Hannan considers all three of my full-length books. She points out similarities and differences, traces developments. I think it's pretty cool to have my entire oeuvre covered!

The review begins, "The temptation to read Diane Lockward's latest book, Temptation by Water, as the final volume of a trilogy, building on her two previous full-length collections, Eve's Red Dress (Wind Publications, 2003) and What Feeds Us (Wind Publications, 2006)—proves as irresistible as her luscious homage to peach, "Prunis Persica." The books, with striking cover art by Brian Rumbolo, complement each other physically and share the same gutsy, intelligent voice, forthright exploration of a deeply particular human life, and lavishly precise language." Read the entire review HERE. While you're there, be sure to check out the poetry.

The next piece of good news appeared on my front porch in a package delivered by FedEx. It was a complimentary copy of the 2012 Poet's Market. Nice, but the real surprise was discovering that my article, "Finding Readers: How to Get Your Poetry into Their Hands," is reprinted there—for the 4th time! I like having my article appear and reappear in what many poets consider their bible. The articles in this edition are especially good. So if you usually skip them, don't this time. For example, there's a wonderful article by Taylor Mali on how to give a good reading. If you've ever heard Taylor give a reading, you know that he knows what he's talking about. Another article by editor Robert Lee Brewer offers good tips on how to be a successful blogger. Then one by Sandra Beasley on straying from the factual truth in poetry—well, I wish I'd written that one. Beasley expresses my own position perfectly. Her piece ends with this gem of wisdom: "At the end of the day, we have only one face. But the masks we can wear are infinite."

Apparently that wasn't enough good news for me, so today I received word that food blogger, Nina Soifer, has included my poem, "Prunis Persica," in today's post, an especially delicious one with tantalizing photos and tempting recipes. The eggplant appetizer just about had me drooling all over my keyboard.  My poem is accompanied by a recipe for Grilled Jersey Peaches. I should mention that Grand Marnier is part of the recipe. How could that not be delicious? Please visit Food for Us, but wear a bib.
This is a new blog which plans to feature food and poetry. I like that combination. Please help to spread the word for Nina.

This has been a good week for my peach poem. Julie L. Moore read the poem for Conrad's Corner on WYSO Radio in Ohio. I previously posted about that, but in case you missed it, here's the media player with poem again.