Pass the Donuts!

I'm happy to say that The Book of Donuts, the second anthology published by my press Terrapin Books, has been getting some really nice attention. Thanks to Jason Lee Brown and Shanie Latham for being such great editors and for doing some fine pr for the book. Please allow me to brag a bit.

First. in November we had a really nice review by Gale Walden in Smile Politely, an online newspaper. Walden said of the collection:
Some of the poems see the donut as an antagonist, a foil against thin bodies, healthy lifestyles, and then there is the poem "Rationalization" by Betsey Cullen, who finds a way around that kind of castigation: “Loosen up/ Krispy Kreme rhymes / with dream. Go ahead. Wallow / in a carrot-cake donut, call it a vegetable.”

A second review appeared in Midwest Quarterly Review, this one by Matt Geiger who made this comment:
For all its Bismarks, gulgulas and bombolones, the collection is far more human than pastry. The poems are really about family, international terrorism, anguish, love, and an array of other topics. The book is brimming with memories of mothers and grandmothers, glistening with perspiration as they tend crackling pots of oil. It's full of those who lose the ones they love and turn to trans fats for temporary but palpable comfort.

Jama sets a lovely table

The book also had a beautiful feature at Alphabet Soup, a food blog hosted by Jama Rattigan. The feature includes contributor Martha Silano's wonderful poem "What can I say that hasn’t been said." When you visit the feature, bring a bib with you as Jama includes some wonderful photos.

Another terrific feature appeared in Nicole  Gulotta's food blog, Eat This Poem. Nicole is also the author of a wonderful and unique cookbook, also titled Eat This Poem. The cookbook includes poems about food and recipes. This feature includes the poem "5 World Trade Center," by James Penha, and a commentary about the poem. Of this poem, Gulotta asks:
How many donuts have we eaten in our lifetime already? I've certainly had my share, and now I may never eat another without remembering these words or the image of dusty confections, trays of them, never delivered, utterly symbolic of the lives of men and women who perished, lives never fully lived.
The poem is followed by a recipe for Apple Cider Donuts.

Nicole models the book

Then we just had a poem featured by Verse Daily. They chose Nicky Beer's wonderful "Most Bizarre Beauty Queens of the 1950’s" as the feature for December 6.

If all this talk about donuts has stimulated your appetite for more and if you're looking for a good gift idea, here's one from editor Shanie Latham:
GIFT BAG IDEA: The Book of Donuts, a pound of fancy coffee, and a coffee mug featuring a snarky epigram (or a sweet one—if you're into that sort of thing).

Of course, we're into that sort of thing!