there was my mother
cooking cornmeal porridge,
plantains, and callaloo for later,
my father's guitar notes,
streaming in from the garden,
to hold her singing,
his music, breathing,
lifting leaves
that would collect and stir
at his feet, my mother's
clapping hands, bells jingling
on her ankles.

(lns. 12-24 of "In the Garden of Banana and Coconut Trees")

This is the language, the imagery, of Shara McCallum in her collection of poetry, The Water Between Us. Hers is the poetry of island, family, love, and loss. Taken as a whole, the poems portray life from the perspective of a Jamaican woman, one whose experience has been funny, tragic, disturbing, and beautiful.
Throughout the collection, McCallum's language is clear and accessible. This clarity does not lie in simplicity, however, for there is a subtlety to the way she approaches her subjects. She is a storyteller, and her style is of mystery, not insurmountable mystery, but a mystery that gives the reader satisfaction when images, story, emotion, and message merge as one. For instance, her father's cancer, in "Darkling I Listen," is not addressed head on, but treated in a round-about manner as a subject too painful for words like 'cancer' to describe. The result is an emotional epiphany for the reader, one that captures the essence of the experience.
This approach is particularly effective in her treatment of the pain in her life, which extends far beyond her father's sickness. The pain she feels in her relationship with her mother permeates the whole of the book, and the reader experiences the awkward discomfort of distance between mother and daughter.
The thrust of the book, happily, is not strictly loss and sadness. There is a playfulness to much of her poetry, particularly in "Calypso," where the grand western hero Odysseus is hilariously reduced to an enraptured white man, the beach fling of a young Jamaican woman. This happiness extends as a strain throughout the book, flowing through joys of music, foods, island life, and daughterhood, offsetting the tales of family distance and loss.
As a whole, McCallum's poetry provides a complete picture of life drawn from the colorful formative experiences of an intriguing woman. Her story, the joy and sorrow, the contentment and loss, conveyed in flowing, elegant verse, is beautiful, and should not be missed.

In this wonderful collection, Shara McCallum explores the nature of an identity that has been divided from itself by geography, culture, and language. Her poems face stark psychological and physical truths with a remarkable clarity of thought and a brilliant mastery of language. All poetry should be this fresh, this brave, this GOOD.

Then I picked it up again, and gave myself an entire week to read it. After two readings, I was still caught up in Ms. McCallum's amazing poems. Now I am on my third reading of the book, and I don't see how I won't continue to read it, over and over again. Ms. McCallum has a wonderful, tight rein on her writing -- plain, yet vivid, images; strong language that speaks to the mind and the heart. She's a breath of fresh air, something anyone who enjoys poetry will appreciate. Pick it up, and you won't ever put it down.

"The Best of Pif Magazine Off-Line" offers a refreshing assortment of new stories and new voices. A standout among them is Mimi Carmen's "Love Birds". Ms. Carmen's tale of an aging mother and conflicted daughter resonates with idiosyncratic vision and gritty passion. The bird imagery is breathtaking. I also very much enjoyed "23 Johnson Avenue, 1985" by Diann Blakely. If writers were race horses, and I had money, I'd bet my wad on these two.

A wonderful collection - refreshingly different, but solid. My favorite is "Love Birds" by Mimi Carmen. I'd like to read more of her work.

I am bored with many print magazines nowadays. The same things, the same things. Ho-hum. I've been following this zine for a while now, open it every month with relish. They've definitely picked a lot of their best, and Camille Renshaw's intro says a lot about WHY I don't like other magazines. Here is something worth a read, something that will make you want to get everything the magazine has put out since the beginning. There's even a rationale for professional wrestling, something that wants me to buy a tape of the event with the Undertaker/Mankind Hell in the Cell match, and I NEVER watch that stuff! You should definitely have this on your shelf--impress your friends with how in the know you are.

This book is truly one of my most treasured books! I use this book with my first grade students each year at Christmas time. It gives the kids a whole new meaning of what the spirit of the holidays is really about. It's not what you get from someone, but how you feel when you have done something special for someone else! We write what we are thankful for instead of letters to Santa. It's a must have to anyone's collection!

I do *not* like country music, so was surprised to find this book beautifully poignant and touching. Most of the children I know actually have too much stuff --clothes, toys, etc. -- so I think it is important for them to hear and read this story. Children from any background -- affluent or poor -- need to know that it isn't what they own that is important, but how they feel about themselves inside, and how much they are loved. This book shows a family that is strong, loving, and good, despite the hardships of poverty. The illustrations are wonderful and eye-catching for children. I can't say enough good things about this book.

This story based on Dolly's famous song, Coat of Many Colors, brings back great memories of the times I've spent in the mountains, and memories of my own mother. I sing the story to my son and he just loves it. Thanks Dolly, for the heart tugging song and book.

Open City consistently publishes great stories, poems, essays, and artwork. I look forward to each issue, because each one is so different, and because this magazine continues to be vital and relevant, esp. because many literary magazines are so staid and dull....

Protecting The American Homeland: A Preliminary Analysis is a methodical and highly serious account, collaboratively written by a team of Brooking scholars (Michael E. O'Hanlon; Peter R. Orszag; Ivo H. Daalder; I. M. Destler; David L. Gunter; Robert E. Litan; James B. Steinberg), laying out a four-tiered plan to support the efforts of the Bush administration and Congress to ensure America's security from terrorists... Offering suggestions such as increasing federal spending on homeland security to ... and then upgrading the authority of the director of the Office of Homeland Security rather than create a new superagency, Protecting The American Homeland is a well-thought out and welcome contribution to the current national dialogue as it offers an important perspective for our post-911 national security needs.

Not a biographical sketch of Thoreau in a typical sense, but in a poetic one. Every word Thoreau wrote was essential, and Robert Bly has selected rich, complex prose selections from "Walden" and other writings, along with Thoreau's little-published poetry, to shine light into the soul of one of our most important American writers. Beautifully illustrated with woodcuts, a careful positioning of text on the page - simple, elegant, compelling. Bly's comments on Thoreau's writings and life, and on the contexts in which Thoreau can be seen, provide an excellent structure to his large body of work, and a wonderful guide to further reading. If we had all started our high school readings of Thoreau with this book, there would be no market for the current plethora of books on simplifying life. Our "Waldens" would be well-worn. It's all here, simply, beautifully, essentially

If They Mated is one of my favorite skits on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, so I just had to buy this book. I am glad I did, it is one of the funniest books I've ever read. Even if you never saw the show before, or this skit, I highly recommend getting this book, I guaranty you'll laugh! I would have rated it a 5 but the pictures in the book are grayscale, color would have been much better, but it is still a great book.

Ive always loved Conans humor. He is the king of couch humor. A classic comedian. In this book he showcases my favorite, and I think everyone elses too, jokes that he does. IF THEY MATED. Very funny book. Purchase this now.

Conan O'Brien is one of the funniest men alieve and this book proves that!This book evolved from a sketch on the show(one of the best, other than Pimpbot 5000). He and the Late Night Writers are amazing,they come up with so many diffrent sketches that its not even funny. If you have ever wondered what celebrities babies looked like this book is a must have.
HAIL CONAN!

heart,
ivy the barbarian

I found the book Prisoners of Age to be a very powerful and revealing collection of portraits and photo essays. The images were on par with the photography of Richard Avedon and Mary Ellen Mark. This book forces you to slow down and think about our aging prison population not just as a number but as real people with hopes and dreams. This book does not attempt to pass judgment about the incarceration of the aged but lets the viewer draw his or her own conclusions. The overall quality of the book is outstanding with first rate printing and cutting edge design and layout that showcases the photography.

RIVETING!! Not only does this book graphically depict the often horrible treatment of America's aging prison population, but also serves as a sample of how Americans view the elderly in general. Our fast-paced, high-tech society places too much value on youthful vitality and pure intellect, not realizing the contribution that wisdom and decades of experience can bring to heighten our humanity and sensitivity for our fellow man. Even if you choose to ignore the deeper meaning of this book, the quality and impact of the photographs and artwork still make it a bargain for the price.

Chris

I spent hours browsing the sobering and, at times, shocking stories of these aged and infirm inmates in the prison system of the southern U.S. The portraiture, stunning design and layout of this book made it a thoroughly engaging read. I only hope the "Prisoners of Age" exhibition itself comes to the east coast so that I can have a chance to see it in person.

This EMT Emergency book ROCKS! As an EMT student, I find this book to surpass all other EMT books in print. The whole class loves the book as well. I recommend getting the, self study Workbook that accompanies the textbook. Without a doubt, it wins a Gold Metal and a Five Star Award for outstanding publication and instruction into the field of the EMT - Basic.

Excellent book, and extremely informative; I just completed the EMT-Basic course and the National Registry exam. The book was a wonderful source of knowledge, and reference. What I would like to see is perhaps a cheaper, paperback version of the book come out; we completed the course and had to return the book, and I just think that if it was more accessible, more students would have purchased it, instead of signing it out.

I have been teaching the EMT-B class for more than 10 years. I have found that this 8th Edition Brady book is the best available. This text prepares my students not only to pass the State and National exams, but also very useful for the real world!

If your idea of love is limited to visions of puppies and balloons, The Thing About Love Is... probably not for you. In Polyphony Press' first effort, the heavy topic of love is tackled in gritty, gutsy pieces that cut to core of this complex emotion. Sometimes it's bliss, sometimes it's bizarre, and quite often it hurts, but regardless of its form, love is always intriguing. This anthology is in keeping with that notion. With a variety of styles and voices, the works featured here are unanimous in their ability to draw the reader in and keep him hooked. It is truly a great read that may challenge one's personal definition of love. Call it an enjoyable experiment in mind expansion!

It's difficult to find an anthology that has as much stopping power as this one. Reading it, I was impressed not only by the diversity of the authorial voices, but also by their veracity. Each story, poem and play seems to have come straight from the gut. What's more, the contributing writers help to remove our blinders; particularly when it comes to matters of the heart. Love, they argue, is nothing less than a battlefield on which each of us daily chances victory or defeat.Those seeking to enter the contest fully armed would do well to buy this book.

Anthologies are not my usual choice of reading material, but as this was recommended to me, I decided to give it a try. I was pleasantly surprised. While I could not relate to some of the pieces here, I enjoyed the underlying topic immensely. The poetry, drama, and short stories were a good blend. The Thing About Love Is... an enjoyable and fast read, but has a peculiar lingering effect that required that I return to it for further exploration. It's a perfect book to read from the relative comfort and safety of your best chair, where you know that you can dip into the joy and angst of love and for once, walk away unscathed.