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Buzzed Books

  • Buzzed Books #51: Being Elvis

    Buzzed Books #51 by Scott Hoffman Ray Connolly’s Being Elvis: A Lonely Life When I was asked to review Ray Connolly’s new Elvis biography, Being Elvis: A Lonely Life, my first thought was, do we need another Elvis biography? His life is already a part of our national myth. His meteoric rise in the 1950s from poverty in rural Mississippi to rock… Continue reading

  • Buzzed Books #50: Ari Banias’ Anybody

    Buzzed Books #50 by Amy Watkins Ari Banias’ Anybody Ari Banias’ debut collection, Anybody (Norton, 2016), begins with a poem titled “Some Kind of We.” In it, his reason for writing is laid out as plainly as a thesis statement in a freshman composition class: I am trying to write, generally and specifically, through what… Continue reading

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  • Buzzed Books #49: Paper Girls

    Buzzed Books #49 by Whitney Hamrick Paper Girls by Brian K. Vaughn and Cliff Chiang Paper Girls is an Eisner and Harvey Award-winning “Best New Series,” written by Brian K. Vaughn, famed author of fan favorites Y: The Last Man and Saga, and artist Cliff Chiang, of New 52’s Wonder Woman glory, who present a story often described as War… Continue reading

  • Buzzed Books #48: Vu Tran’s Dragonfish

    Buzzed Books #48 by Shawn McKee Vu Tran’s Dragonfish Vu Tran’s debut novel, Dragonfish (2015), reads like a neo-noir, existential thriller. The characters are calculating, the dialogue sharp, and the narrative immersive and intriguing. Tran gives these characters a sense of displacement and a yearning to connect with the past, despite the traumas awaiting such… Continue reading

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  • Buzzed Books #47: Thomas Vinciguerra’s Cast of Characters

    Buzzed Books #47 by Adelia Johnson Thomas Vinciguerra’s Cast of Characters Thomas Vinciguerra’s Cast of Characters by  is a biography of the early days of The New Yorker. Though sometimes hard to follow due to the large quantity of “characters” mentioned, I found myself wanting to pick up my pen and start a journal of… Continue reading

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  • Buzzed Books #46: Solmaz Sharif’s Look

    Buzzed Books #46 by Amy Watkins Solmaz Sharif’s Look In a September 2014 feature for the Kenyon Review Online, “A Poetry of Proximity,” Solmaz Sharif calls poets “the caretakers of language.” She writes: The State exerts (or at least attempts) authority over us in many ways, including its use of language: passive construction, missing subjects,… Continue reading

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  • Buzzed Books #45: In the Shadow of Edgar Allan Poe

    Buzzed Books #45 by Shawn Whittington In the Shadow of Edgar Allan Poe For those who savor Gothic lit, this anthology satisfies.  Edited by scholar Leslie S. Klinger, this collection curates classical chilling tales, often of a dark Victorian flavor, written by literary authors such as Oscar Wilde, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, H. P. Lovecraft, and… Continue reading

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  • Buzzed Books #44: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Parts I & II

    Buzzed Books #44 by Chuck Cannini Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Parts I & II Even as I walked through New York City’s streets in the rain without an umbrella, I may as well have received my acceptance letter to Hogwarts. Seven hours and a rendition of Macbeth, which I reviewed earlier this week… Continue reading

  • Buzzed Books #43: The Emperor of Water Clocks

    Buzzed Books #43 by Amy Watkins Review of Yusef Komunyakaa’s The Emperor of Water Clocks Yusef Komunyakaa’s latest poetry collection, The Emperor of Water Clocks (Farrar, Strauss and Giroux, 2015) is stately. I know, that’s an awful word, but it describes a book that is measured, dignified, elegant, and profound. The poems have the weight… Continue reading

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  • Buzzed Books #42: Star Wars: Bloodline

    Buzzed Books #42 by Chuck Cannini Claudia Gray’s Star Wars: Bloodline When Death Star II exploded over the skies of Endor and those cannibal teddy bears sang and danced in triumph, Return of the Jedi’s ending brought a sense of finality to the Star Wars saga. The Empire had lost. A rebel alliance seemed unnecessary.… 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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