I may have an ear infection and end-of-semester fatigue, but Close Quarters just received its first book review by the wonderful Slash Pine Press. Not only am I bowled over by Alexandra Franklin’s kind insights about my writing, I’m also touched because I know the Slash Pine project from my days at the University of Alabama. They’re a generous, innovative, stylish press.
For example, I once participated in a reading organized by press founder Joseph Wood (a prolific poet in his own right). In groups of about ten, we went on a silent hike through the woods near the Black Warrior river, stopping every quarter-mile or so to hear a student read a section of our work aloud. Slash Pine is always experimenting with the interplay between words and space.
Here’s my favorite snippet from Franklin’s review:
The essays in “Close Quarters” are less essays than extended prose poems—the rhythms clear and smooth, the narratives taking a backseat to the lyrical rollicking of the prose. Monticello takes a contemplative step back and shows us her family as they might be seen through the knotted stitching that holds them together: imperfect, incomplete, in the shadow of dark lines. But they are beautiful, and they catch the eye.
Check out the complete review (with pictures!) here.
Thank you, Slash Pine!
