Gazelle Books

Eric Cole | Man and Beast | Gazelle Books

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For Irish-born poet and zookeeper Eric Cole the fourteen lines and rhythmic patterns of the sonnet echo the very building blocks of life. Within the basic structure of simple genetic material lies the limitless potential for the existence of all living things, be they man or beast. So, too, within the simple structure of the sonnet, there is a similar universe of untold possibilities. Now, in these robust and stylish poems, the mysteries of the animal kingdom are explored with genuine scientific curiosity and rendered with tenderness, stimulating language, and unmistakable Irish wit. From the reviled Portuguese man o’ war to the glorious hyacinth macaw, from the elusive snow leopard to the bizarre pangolin, and even to the human animal itself, Cole demonstrates how life exists in inexplicable but nonetheless indispensable variety, and this collection serves to remind us what we stand to lose if we fail to appreciate the small states of grace that befall us in the disappearing natural wonders of our world. Continue reading →

Vittoria Repetto | Not Just a Personal Ad | Gazelle Books

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Vittoria Repetto is a subtle poet who has preserved her working class sensibility and her taste for the actual language of daily life while maintaining an acute ear for literary echoes. From the first poem where she places her grandparents young and in love right in front of us, to ‘she’s doing the dishes’ where in a tongue in cheek delivery she eroticises a simple household chore to the last poem ‘not just a personal ad,’ Vittoria repetto casts an unapologetically direct and witty eye on life’s complexity. These are poems that paint unforgettable moments within unforgettable scenes. Continue reading →

Adam Getty | Repose | Gazelle Books

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“Repose” is an exploration of the definition of cultural freedom; it is a pointed look at an obsession with production, and a comparison of natural and urban environments that shape our lives. Getty argues that our lives are so tightly controlled by non-negotiable experiences of employment that for the majority of people employment is anything but a democratic process. Getty’s attempt to find spontaneity and a modern idiom by writing in traditional poetic styles mirrors a cultural attempt to find freedom and vitality. By meticulously studying the poetic techniques of the past, Adam Getty has put new wine into old wineskins: he has found a voice that is erudite, disciplined and, ultimately, free. Continue reading →

Glenna Luschei | Total Immersion | Gazelle Books

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This is a landmark collection of poems by the legendary literary activist, poet/editor Glenna Luschei. In her mature later poems, Glenna Luschei joyfully celebrates the organic cycle of life. People and landscapes reflect and parallel each other in their birth, growth, decline and death, but the poet opts for a life-affirming, maternal world-view. It takes more than mere life to discourage her pioneer spirit. Glenna Luschei, Ph.D. has been active in the small press for 40 years as a past president of COSMEP (Committee of Small Magazine Editors & Publishers), the publisher of Solo Café, as a teacher, as a translator and as a philanthropist to American literature. Continue reading →

Merle Nudelman | We, the Women | Gazelle Books

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Merle Nudelman plumbs the nuances and vagaries which define our relationships and the shifting moments of lover, abuser, victim, and healer. The imagery in We, the Women is at once startling and evocative. Poems of layered scenes of domesticity and of the natural world border on the elegiac. In this richly textured collection, Nudelman celebrates the transformative power of love and spiritual awakening. Continue reading →

Shoshauna Shy | What the Postcard Didn’t Say | Gazelle Books

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The combustible verses comprising this anthology examine the unsettling way people, places, and relationships affect everyday life. Exposing the baggage, detours, accommodations, and push and pull of the male/female dance, the verses reveal what the postcards really said from the backstage of the subconscious where the messages are throwing a now-or-never party. Full of turbulent encounters and startling discoveries — a groom dancing with his ex at his wedding, a cashier in a hold-up by her former one-night-stand, something you hope you won’t have to tell your daughter — this collection is a tailbone toss across the continental divide in a jeep that dropped its muffler ten miles back. Continue reading →

Eric Greinke | Wild Strawberries | Gazelle Books

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Wild Strawberries collects fifty-nine new poems previously published in three dozen plus literary journals such as Backwards City Review, The California Quarterly, the Iconoclast, The New York Quarterly and The Pedestal, from 2005 to 2008, by the critically acclaimed poet Eric Greinke. The book’s central theme is man’s relationship to time and the natural (and unnatural) world. Greinke’s poems are imagistic, thought-provoking and evocative. He is a master of shifting moods and personae. Includes the 180-line major poem For The Living Dead, which has been nominated by Muses Review as Best Poem of 2007 and also for a Pushcart Prize. Eric Greinke is a major voice on the small press literary scene. A must-have for all poetry collections. Continue reading →

Eric Greinke | The Drunken Boat and Other Poems From the French of Arthur Rimbaud | Gazelle Books

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Text in English and French. Known only to literati since its original small press publication in 1975 and two subsequent small press editions, widely published poet Eric Greinke’s innovative American versions of Rimbaud’s best poems have received critical acclaim as the best translations of Rimbaud to date. Available for the first time as a full-length book, these translations have received high praise from fellow poets-translators such as Robert Bly and Leslie H Whitten. These versions restore the music and imagery of the originals for English-language readers. Greinke was among the first American poets to prioritise poetic elements in translation, breaking tradition with the more literal but less literate ‘old school’ approach. Contains 35 of Rimbaud’s works accompanied by the original French, including Greinke’s hauntingly evocative version of “The Drunken Boat”, a poem considered by many to be the single best poem ever written in any language. Includes a twelve page introduction by the poet-translator and an index of first lines. A ‘must have’ for all students and readers of classic poetry. Continue reading →

Irina Ratushinskaya | Wind of the Journey | Gazelle Books

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Irina Ratushinskaya will forever be known as the poet who was arrested for her writing, sentanced to a Soviet prison camp. And who continued in the face of persecution to write new poems. She wrote them on bars of soap, memorised them, and then washed away the ‘evidence’. Irina is a recognised poet in both the International community and the United States. Many of Irina’s poems have the earmarks of a well-seasoned traveller: and eagerness for adventure, melancholy good-byes, and a faith forged from life’s journey. Continue reading →