Amy Kennedy’s Vanishing Points is like the dictionary every person needs on their bookshelf. For such a small print, every page packs a punch while equipping its readers with the knowledge and terminology to discuss and evaluate the climate crisis in a whole new light. A collection of micro essays, Kennedy's Vanishing Points takes the shape of an ecological dictionary that ranges from actual terms such as biosphere, confirmation bias, and greenhouse effect to concepts like boomtown and climate doom. It’s a six by six powerhouse collection that gives concept after concept without much room to breathe. Kennedy’s motivation seems to be: We can only fight against something once we learn the language to destroy it.
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The past can fill the soul with sweet nostalgia, but it can also fill the mind with memories it would rather forget. Alison Hicks’ latest poetry collection, Homing, is a treasure trove of recollections brimming with the brightness of childhood, the solitude of being an outsider, and the beauty of creation in all forms. Through natural and man-made environmental themes, Hicks soars across planes of joy, loneliness, and womanhood by constructing scenes that not only help readers ponder the mysteries of our habitats, but also the mysteries within ourselves.
Grief is a part of life that every single one of us has to deal with, in ways big and small, yet no one seems to know how to talk about it. Grief is heavy, and putting it into words is no small task. However, author Ashley Roth takes on this duty with grace and nuance. Her debut novel, We Never Took a Bad Picture, recognizes that mourning isn’t a linear process by using a non-linear narrative and showcasing how much space grief takes up at different points in the main character’s lives. Roth shows readers that coping looks different for everyone, and that these processes can just as easily push people apart as they bring them together.
The novel follows the lives of the Joyces, a multi-generational nexus of complicated relationship dynamics. The book builds up to the 55th anniversary party of the central characters Artie and Gloria. As the family prepares for the party, as well as Artie’s retirement from the grocery store he’s been working at since before they got married, we learn that their relationship isn’t perfect, and neither is anyone else's.
Jesi Bender’s Child of Light is a masterclass in narrative in-betweens. Bender writes beautiful, evocative prose and descriptions that are both startling and disturbing. The story is both narratively complex with several throughlines, and deceptively simple. The novel follows Ambrétte Memenon, a thirteen-year-old young woman moving with her family to Utica, New York in 1886. Ambrétte herself is imprisoned in a twilight land of “in-betweens.” For instance, her father only speaks French, her mother and brother are bilingual, and she only speaks in English. The book uses the main character’s feelings of being trapped between two words to launch into experimentations with structure, perspective, and language. The form of the book is both a testament to what novels can accomplish and breaks all conventions with a reckless abandon
Human life mimics nature’s seasons and their complex tensions. Sometimes it is an easy and mild transition into a new phase. Other times, it is a violent and distinct change that leaves one feeling ill prepared and unsettled. More commonly, it is a slow transition filled with inconsistency and wavering.
Annette Sisson skillfully weaves the complexities of grief throughout her poetry collection, Winter Sharp with Apples. The book’s title is a reminder that even in bitter times, such as a sharp winter, life will present moments of hope and sweetness, as depicted through the image of the apple. |
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