Buzzed Books
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Buzzed Books #101: Joe Abercrombie’s The Devils
In his novel The Devils, Joe Abercrombie breaks away from the fantasy genre conventions so essential to his epic ten book First Law series. In assembling a new cast of characters, Abercrombie turns instead to horror tropes: werewolves, vampires, the living dead. With his customary lyrical prose, narrative wit, and memorable monsters, Abercrombie delivers a thrilling adventure, a Continue reading
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Buzzed Books #100: Raised by Wolves: Fifty Poets on Fifty Poems
You know how it is: when you aren’t the church-going type, but find yourself at Sunday service anyway—maybe you’re visiting your grandma, or maybe it’s Easter—and the pastor says, “I invite you to share the peace with your neighbor”, and everyone around you unexpectedly turns and greets the person seated to their left, and then Continue reading
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Buzzed Books #99: B.H. Fairchild’s An Ordinary Life
Being a first-generation middle-class poet isn’t easy. I sit at a desk and peck at a laptop all day. Not poems; emails to colleagues, research summaries, proposed company policies. The Florida sun bakes the streets outside and I think back to the rural Midwest, the place I was apparently born, but don’t remember. I struggle Continue reading
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Buzzed Books #98: The Anchored World: Flash Fairy Tales and Folklore
Buzzed Books #98 by Bethany Duvall Jasmine Sawers’ The Anchored World: Flash Fairy Tales and Folklore The title story of Jasmine Sawers’ The Anchord World, Flash Fairy Tales and Folklore suggests that the book is for those of us condemned to live in this world, where heroes don’t have sharp enough wits or weapons to bring down the Continue reading
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Buzzed Books #97: Fiona Benson’s Vertigo and Ghost
Buzzed Books #97 by Brian Salmans Fiona Benson’s Vertigo and Ghost In a bookshop interview a few years ago, Fiona Benson said, “I think I have always been a little bit violent.” The audience laughed, mildly, maybe as thrown off by her soft-spoken and questioning tone as I was. Did she mean that? After all, Continue reading
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Buzzed Books #96: Topics of Conversation
Buzzed Books #96 by Samantha Nickerson Miranda Popkey’s Topics of Conversation In March 2020, I was in New York City for vacation. I found myself in a bookstore on 34th Street. After looking at every shelf (because I’m compulsive), I found Miranda Popkey’s debut novel, Topics of Conversation, on display at the storefront. I devoured Continue reading
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Buzzed Books #95: The Art of Soul, The Art of Raya and the Last Dragon, and The Art of Luca
Buzzed Books #95 by John King The Art of Soul, The Art of Raya and the Last Dragon, and The Art of Luca As a lifelong fan of Disney films, there’s not much nostalgia in my obsession. I have never found ways to make Condorman, The Fox and the Hound, or Herbie Does a Thing Continue reading
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Buzzed Books #94: Nana Nketwi’s Walking on Cowrie Shells
Buzzed Books #94 by Jan Elizabeth Watson Walking on Cowrie Shells by Nana Nketwi As any writer knows, the quality of voice is sometimes elusive. It is something that you either have and can develop further or do not have until you begin to locate it within yourself. Nana Nkweta’s debut collection, Walking on Cowrie Shells (Graywolf Press), Continue reading
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Buzzed Books #93: Love and Errors
Buzzed Books #93 by Wanda Fuentes Kimberly Dark’s Love and Errors Kimberly Dark’s Love and Errors is an extremely compelling read that is enjoyable despite its heavy themes. Emotions rage on each page as victims, survivors, abusers, and bystanders perceive abuse differently, speaking to each other and themselves in the midst of being. Dark creates a world Continue reading
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Buzzed Books #92: Red Comet: Heather Clark’s The Short Life and Blazing Art of Sylvia Plath
Buzzed Books #92 by Jan Elizabeth Watson Heather Clark’s Red Comet: The Short Life and Blazing Art of Sylvia Plath Sylvia Plath at nineteen, smiling broadly, her face scrunched into what Ted Hughes once described as a “tight ball of joy.” It was the photo on The Bell Jar’s back cover that hooked me first. Below that, a paragraph-long bio Continue reading
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The Drunken Odyssey is a forum to discuss all aspects of the writing process, in a variety of genres, in order to foster a greater community among writers.
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