Surprise Review of What Feeds Us

I didn't expect to get any more reviews of my second book, What Feeds Us, so it was just delightful to learn that Sheila Bender had reviewed the book in her magazine, Writing It Real. This is a subscription only online publication, but occasionally there's an issue that includes non-subscribers. The review appears in one of those issues.

Sheila gives a generous overview of the collection, then zeroes in on three poems: "Love Test: A Ghazal," "Blueberry," and "Idiosyncrasies of the Body." Since Writing It Real is a newsletter that goes to writers, the review is followed by three prompts, one based on each of the three poems. There's also a blog where people can leave comments. 

Here's a bit from the Introduction:
"A 2006 Quentin R. Howard Poetry Prize winner, the volume is as witty as it is heartbreaking. Diane's poems draw her readers in as they transform visits to the hair dresser, eating pickles as a child, wanting more out of a marriage as a husband brings in cold pizza on a snowy night, being stung by a bee and tended to lovingly, looking at blueberries in her kitchen, noticing an announcement about a coming test, or having an MRI and dreading the results into moments of revelation and introspection. Diane's gift for melding observations of food she prepares, activities in her life, and notions of her own and others with her deepest longings and fears reaches fully into the heart." 

You can read the entire review here. I love this review! 

You might be interested in subscribing to Writing It Real. It costs $30 per year. Sheila is an experienced poet, prose writer, editor, and teacher.
Here are some of the Subscriber Benefits:

• Links to each new article emailed every Thursday
• Access over five years of weekly articles in our archives
• Read any article online or download the print version
• Receive updated publishing and writing resource information each week 
• Customize your email preferences to receive newsletters and special notices
• $20 discount on all Writing It Real online workshops

Read some Free sample articles. 

Consider treating some writer you know to a subscription. Consider treating yourself to a subscription.

I'm Having a Baby

No, not that kind of baby! More like a brainchild, though the amount of brain may be debatable. What I'm hatching is a monthly poetry newsletter. My intention is to send this out once a month, ideally on the 1st of the month, allowing for an occasional missed month or a late send-out.

Why, you ask. Just because I thought it might be fun and useful and because I have the time to do it. If it turns out not to be fun or useful or if I end up feeling overburdened, I can throw out the baby with the bath water.

What, you ask. My plan is to include a writing-related quotation,  a writing tip or two from who knows where, book recommendations, a poem I've come across and admired, a prompt, links to cool stuff online, and whatever else comes to mind. The newsletter will be kept to a modest length, and you will not be bombarded. This will definitely not be an all about me sort of thing.

How, you ask. If this sounds like something you'd like to receive, just go to the sidebar and fill out the simple sign-up form. That's it. Then you can expect to receive the August issue on August 1.

PLEASE NOTE: When you sign up, you will receive a confirmation email. You must click the link to confirm. If you don't, you will be "suppressed" and not receive the newsletter.


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