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Orange Roses

Orange Roses

Orange Roses Lucy Ives Ahsahta Press, September 2013 104 pages $18.00 With the proliferation of graduate programs in creative writing, the day approaches when most poetry published in the United States will have been written by people with graduate degrees in writing poetry—a prospect that may launch a thousand jeremiads. But I will not complain,…

The Ploughshares Round-Down: “Die Empty”

If you’re on Twitter, you likely noticed that a new tool took over the twitterverse last week, allowing everyone to identify and re-post their very first tweets. My first? Ahem: I retweeted a friend’s observation that “The writers of the show He-man were frickin’ geniuses”. I mean, obvs my friend spoke truth. Still, by taking that particular occasion to speak up, I’ll…

Two older men site on a bench in black and white.

Seven Types of Writers That Don’t Play Well With Others

Wromance, a word I invented, refers to a friendship between writers at its ideal—respectful, supportive, and considerate. You champion each other but never abuse your relationship. Friendship is not confused for a professional agreement or misconstrued for therapy. Your commonality may lie in a shared passion, but it does not overshadow the human elements of…

Toscanelli’s Ray

Toscanelli’s Ray

This review was contributed by Roderick Vincent. Toscanelli’s Ray Wallis Wilde-Menozzi Cadmus Editions, April 2013 345 pages $16.95 Wallis Wilde-Menozzi lived in the U.S. and England before moving to Italy in 1981. Perhaps it is this confluence of international perspectives that enlighten the philosophical elements latent in her writing. After publishing Mother Tongue, a memoir,…

The Ploughshares Round-Down: Is It True You Can’t Make Any Money Writing Books?

The Ploughshares Round-Down: Is It True You Can’t Make Any Money Writing Books?

When I was making the switch last year from being an editor to being an agent, I heard from older agents that I was making a huge mistake. Advances are shrinking, they said. Midlist authors are going without contracts, and everybody is self-publishing. The whole industry is falling apart! One suggested I should find a…