Category: Barb’s Wordy Blurbs
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Barb’s Wordy Blurbs: Files of Information on People Who Don’t Exist by Peter Mladinic
In Peter Mladinic’s poetry collection Files of Information on People Who Don’t Exist (BlazeVOX, October 9, 2024), the minutia of daily forgetting become memoirs set in free verse. With the precision of a reporter, Mladinic uncovers our deepest impulses, surrenders, and sins. A keen observer, he writes with such honesty, we…
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Barb’s Wordy Blurbs: Glass Awash by Ken Gierke
What immediately impresses the reader is the cover, which displays stones hewn into glass by water and time. Different shades of blue and green, shaped into tears. On the back cover, one stone, a ruby, represents the heart embraced by shadows. When I open the book to…
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Barb’s Wordy Blurbs: Me a Guest Judge for Collaborature?!
I’m grateful to Melissa Lemay, founder of and editor for Collaborature, for inviting me to be the guest judge for the month of April. I read each entry several times and appreciated the opportunity to judge each and every one. I selected an ekphrastic poem “Unstrung” by Mary Stebbins Taitt…
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Barb’s Wordy Blurbs: Tranquility (An Anthology of Haiku)
I’m delighted to have five haiku in Gabriela Marie Milton’s new anthology, “Tranquility: An Anthology of Haiku”, which is available now in Amazon! I’m certain that I’m not alone in seeking tranquility these days. I believe this anthology would be a good tool for therapists who may be looking for…
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Barb’s Wordy Blurbs: “Seesaw” by Ken Tomaro and Nolcha Fox!
I hope you like my new column “Barb’s Wordy Blurbs”. It’s my opportunity to share short reviews of books I’ve read and support authors. Today I feature “Seesaw” (Prolific Pulse Press, 2025) by Ken Tomaro and Nolcha Fox. I recall the seesaw, that teeter-totter on the playground. Seated on each end…
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Barb’s Wordy Blurbs: Samsara, a Poetry Collection by Shirani Rajapakse
This review first appeared on MasticadoresUSA. “Samsara” is a highly acclaimed collection of poetry. In 2023, it won the Boao International Poetry Award (China), was nominated for the 2023 State Literary Award (Sri Lanka), and shortlisted for the 2022 Gratiaen Award (Sri Lanka). Shirani Rajapakse writes poetry and short stories.…
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Barb’s Wordy Blurbs: Poetry Treasures 5 (Small Pleasures)
I’m delighted to have four poems in this gorgeous new anthology complied and edited by Kaye Lynne Booth and Robbie Cheadle. Other authors include DL Mullan, Jude Itakali, Ivor Steven, Robbie Cheadle, Michelle Ayon Navajas, Gwen M. Plano, Elizabeth Gauffreau, David Bogomolny, Dawn Pasturino, Maggie Watson, and Colleen Chesebro. Isn’t…
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Barb’s Wordy Blurbs: One Petal at a Time by Joni Caggiano
April 5 was the anniversary of the publication of Joni Caggiano’s poetry collection One Petal at a Time (Prolific Pulse Press, 2024). Congratulations, Joni! The title of Joni Karen Caggiano’s powerful poetry collection, One Petal at a Time, makes me recall what I used to say as a child while…
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Barb’s Wordy Blurbs: “Fragments of Time” by Snigdha Agrawal
I’m delighted that my review of Snigdha Agrawal’s book, Fragments of Time, (Memoirs) was published on LatinosUSA – English Edition on April 3, 2025! Here is part of the review. The rest follows on the link below. Fragments of Time: Memoirs (Notion Press, February 11, 2025) is an inspiring legacy…
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Barb’s Wordy Blurbs: “Coming Home” by Smitha Vishwanath
Smitha Vishwanath posted that her book Coming Home is two years old this week, so I thought I would republish my review of it, which I published on MasticadoresUSA in September 2023. The Epigraph Poem for Coming HomeI dare to make mistakes I dare to ask for helpI dare to…
Extraordinary Sunshine Weaver 