Welcome to Issue III, Volume X: January 2018 of Connotation Press: An Online Artifact. Happy New Year!!! Since our last issue came out in November, Kaite & I moved to Palm Springs, California. WOOOOHOOOO!!!! We love it here! Also, there's a party down the street and I'm running late, so let's get to it. Time to kick this pig and see what it'll do!
This month in our Poetry Congeries, with John Hoppenthaler column, we have a special, hard-earned treat: a brand spankin’ new poem from the supreme diva herself, Ms.Rita Dove. YES!!! I could not possibly love this poem more. If that isn’t enough, and come on people—you know it is!, John brings us dynamic, vital new poems from Catie Rosemurgy, Malcolm Tariq, Virginia Konchan, F. Douglas Brown, Neil Shepard, and Maria Takolander. This is one powerful collection of written art, amigos. Amazing. And finally, don’t miss John’s confessional Christmas wish in his preface. Cracked me up. Welcome everyone, and great job, John! Well done, sir.
Up next, Julia Bouwsma delivers a review of Risk Being/Complicated, the new ekphrastic collection by Devon Balwit from the art of Lorette C. Luzajic. Alexandra Umlas does a fine job with the review and although we don’t usually reprint reviews or poems or, well, anything really, even though a version of this review first appeared in The Cultural Weekly in April 2018, this is an updated review that includes an interview with both the poet and the painter. Great stuff. Thanks Julia and Alexandra!
And our Drinker with a Writing Problem, John Turi, reviews the 2016 Cherry Pie Pinot Noir from the fine folks at Three Counties. Although it didn’t receive his highest marks, he did rank it as an especially good, reasonably priced daily drinker. And for a lot of us, that goes a long way. Thank you, Mr. Turi!
Although we have a condensed part one this month, we still have a great first-of-the-month post to hold us over until the mid-month post brings more all new poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. See you then!
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