Bücher veröffentlicht von RED HEN PR

These seven short stories trace the childhood memories of a young boy, humorously nicknamed General Custer. The General, optimistic by nature and battered by circumstances, moves from Corvallis, Oregon, to the coastal town of Fairhaven, California. In this patchwork tarpaper town, on the north spit of Humboldt Bay, there are no phones, no indoor toilets, and with mostly absent parents, very few rules for rugged country kids. Tracing General Custer's intrepid spirit and ardent observations, Kids in the Wind brims with windy salt air, unimaginable adventure, embarrassing discoveries of young love, and a great deal of humor. As the stories unravel they lead you to that age-old-question-why grow up?

By evoking the Old Testament book referenced in the title of the collection, The Chronicles recounts distinctive aspects of a Mexican American's presence in California. Fairy tales, bible stories, and Greek myths are reinvented as the genealogy of a poet obsessed by memory and the transformations of dislocation. The Frog Prince longs to be a frog again, Sleeping Beauty doesn't know who she is, Medusa is a misunderstood femme-fatale, Bluebeard is a desired eccentric, and Marilyn Monroe wins the first annual Miss Artichoke beauty contest. Ramón García brings to life landscapes populated by misfits who find-like their mythical counterparts-a sense of belonging between the marvelous and the ordinary, memory and reality. In coming to terms with the intricacies of immigration and migration, García defamiliarizes well-known tales, rewriting enchanting and disturbing versions of stories we thought we knew.

These poems question the sounds that are meaning. They interrogate where meaning resides and whether they are in any way, rigidly or loosely, wed to the words that carry it. There is a nod toward logic and at once an acceptance of its limits. These poems are landscapes, the meaning altering with the movement of clouds, with the changing light. Irony sometimes is the way we can be earnest.

Illuminating Fiction contains nineteen interviews with fiction-writing luminaries including Edward P. Jones, Julia Glass, Amy Bloom, Jill McCorkle, Margot Livesy, Ron Carlson and Steve Almond. The interviews contain questions about narrative, voice, character, place, point of view, arc of the story/novel plot, and revision; questions about the writing process; questions about the trajectory of the writer's career; questions about the role and importance of writing courses and mentoring; and also questions that Ellis has drawn from the text of the authors' work. Authors describe the challenges they have faced. The reader is able to gain an intimate and specific understanding of the authors' works, and the authors' thought process as they created their novels and short stories.

Charles Harper Webb's eccentric and distinct writing style makes this collection of poetry a funny and charmingly memorable read. A melting pot of pop culture, historical references, and everyday life, Webb's poems are refreshingly candid and straightforward.