Young Americans Books

I was so impressed by the way Marcum is able to keep his poems accessible and conversational, intimate and complicated, formal and engaged. This is one of the best books I've had the pleasure to read in months.

Marcum uses magic realism, gritty lies, prayer and confession to propel this book of poems. And make no mistake, this is a book--a narrative thread moves througout the work--and not just a random collection of poems.

The voice of this poet is always true, even and musical. He moves in and through Spanish and English, between borders and bodies, along highways and pool halls. I especially appreciate his constant engagement with the political acts of self and language--it is evident that Marcum knows the responsibility of the poet, he stares it down, bears witness and finds himself singing. His "I am Joaquin," "Dreaming Pancho Villa," is both vital and fresh in the American Chicano tradition of the identity poem.

A truly remarkable debut. I'm keeping my eye out for his reading tour.

Do yourself a favor and buy this book. Cue Lazarus marks the debut of a vital new poet, one who has already hit his stride. Marcum mines the richness of his mixed identity (he is the son of a Mexican woman and an Anglo man), often weaving Spanish together with English to create the basic material of his art. His poetry plunges through a network of blurred boundaries to explore fundamental human predicaments. But while Marcum explicitly roots his art in an imaginative construction of the Mexican-American experience, he slyly lays claim to a wider cultural tradition. He moves through the souls of Ezra Pound, Jay Gatsby, and Marc Antony with the same command as those of Pancho Villa, his friends, his relatives, and his many selves. William Carlos Williams famously insists that the universal exists in the particular. Carl Marcum shines intense light on particular moments of particular lives and, in the process, achieves more than a thousand volumes of presumptuous generalizations. He straddles the fault line of self-knowledge, a vantage point that offers precious insight. Cue Lazarus is a pure pleasure.

"Cue Lazarus" is a book of poetry for people who hate poetry; "Cue Lazarus" is a book of poetry for people who love poetry. It is a book filled both with stories and sensations, celebration and criticism, hope and despair. Carl Marcum tells the story of a self becoming aware of the world around him and his own power and responsibility to interpret that world.

Beginning in "a seventy-seven Pinto / [on] an eastbound freeway" in the southwest and ending in a Philadelphia train station, this book is truly a journey. In between is death, love, cigarettes, bourbon, pool, road signs, fairy tales, coffee and pie, breakfast, and angels. And yet, from this amalgam emerges a voice, strong and true, sometimes wryly amused, always passionately engaged.

These poems are subtly wrought, the often politically-charged content cleverly concealed beneath the lyricism of the language. But make no mistake, everything in this book is an act of both personal and political identity. The most obvious instance, "Cuando El Presidente visito a mi pueblo," claims this blatantly propagandist moment as an intensely personal experience. Other poems achieve the same goal by positioning the speaker on a very literal border between selves, between languages, between cultures.

"Cue Lazarus" is not just an astonishing first book of poems, it is an astonishing book. These are poems not just for the sake of poetry, but present things that can only be said as poems.

Natural spirit-filled poetry accompanied by stunning colourful artworks.
I hear the book is out of print so I would recommend getting a copy on Amazon as it is a collectable to pass down with meaning in your family.
If you have interest, respect, or intregue like the Native American Indian culture for nature, spirit, the earth, and heartfelt connections to all, then this is a beautiful book that you will appreciate. A special find.

I first read Nancy Wood's Dancing Moons after visiting Santa Fe and seeing Frank Howell's gallery. The words and thoughts that Wood has shared with the reader are thoughtful and energising. I find myself going back to her writings for guidance often,for myself and to share with friends and loved ones. I am appreciative of the emotions she has shared with us. Her talents as an expressive writer are world class.

I have never quite understood why Nancy Wood's poetry collections are classified as "young adult". Her deep wisdom and clarity are more likely to be more fully appreciated by adults. This is a wonderful gift book for transitions times: graduations, marriage, death of a loved one, etc. Her poems are liking looking deep into a Medicine Lake where one sees the very fabric of life and all the its intricate connections. Frank Howell's paintings will fill you with awe and haunt your dreams.

This is the story of a boy growing up with little, but always yearning for more and eventually achieving his goals. In a sense a modern ethnic Horatio Alger story, but with cultural respect as the goal rather than financial success. The book was definitely a page-turner, Dionicio had quite a childhood and I always wanted to know the next anecdote that would come out. At the same time, I was shocked at how my country has treated those we consider less desirable.

Being biracial I look like a typical white American, and hence have no experiences of such discrimination. However, I have often wondered about what discrimination my father may have gone through, or especially what my father's parents went through when they were new Mexican immigrants to California. This is sure to be a topic of conversation next time I meet the grandparents.

I think is a great book that tells the struggles of Mexican American family emigrating to the United States. It is a great source of information for people like me, who would like to learn more about another culture. The struggle and the rewards, the suffering and the satisfaction that the author goes through is compelling.

Reading this book made me feel like I was sitting around the campfire, listening to my grandfather tell about the old days. It tells about the struggles of a family leaving Mexico during the revolution in search of a better life in the United States. I especially found it interesting since I live in the Los Angeles area because you learn a lot of history about the area. It is very fast, easy reading and hard to put down. It's a great story to read at any age.

This is a delightful collection of poems written from the perspective of the canine that speaks to the uniqueness of each month. The language as well as illustrations will captivate and hold the interest of child as well as adult. I have shared this with my son's kindergarten teacher, who agreed it is a gem!

What a wonderful little book. While the rhyme of Mr. Prelutsky is always fresh and fine, it was the illustrations that captured my mind. Dyanna Wolcott has a wonderful eye for the child like experience. She captures the world of dogs with a fanciful blend of humor, originality and blazing color. As a book of months this is a wonderful teaching tool. But I found it a special book for dog lovers too. I gave a copy to my daughter as a gift. She's 42!

I am still giggling at the original rhymes perfectly paired with imaginative illustrations in this terrific book for young kids that parents will enjoy reading to them time and again. I can't get over the clever, exquisite art work that call to mind works of Mattisse and Chagal.

Mr. Young has outdone himself. His book not only offers well-argued insights on the subject matter, but his prose is sharp, funny and beautifully crafted. I recommend this book not only for historians, but for anyone looking to take an adventurous ride through our nation's earliest years. Mr. Young is clearly a young historian on the rise. I eagerly await his next work.

Mr. Young has outdone himself. His book not only offers well-argued insights on the subject matter, but his prose is sharp, funny and beautifully crafted. I recommend this book not only for historians, but for anyone looking to take an adventurous ride through our nation's earliest years. Mr. Young is clearly a young historian on the rise. I eagerly await his next work.

Young has managed to combine many factors in this work. He cogently explains how costal planters could perceive themselves as paternalistic masters protecting their slaves while at the same time literally driving those slaves to death in the name of profit. Even more cleverly, he traces the spread of this paternalistic, anti-capitalist rhetoric of the planters through their growing network of commercial capitalism. A revealing read.

I may not be the target audience for this book (I'm an adult male, I suspect most of its readers will be adolescent females), but I thought this was a terrific anthology, and a great way to get a discussion started about "that time of month." For girls, it gives some perspective, and for boys (if you could get them to read it), it would go a long way toward demystifying the ways of women (!). I especially liked Dianne Ochiltree's "The Woman's House," and David Lubar's very funny "The Heroic Quest of Douglas McGawain" (a teenage boy goes out to buy tampons for his girlfriend!).

Of all the possible themes for a collection of short stories, this has to be one of the most unlikely...menstruation. While the topic may appear a bit unseemly, it ultimately works to create a wonderful celebration of womanhood. The book is a series of biological coming-of-age stories; it portrays
menstruation as both celebration and curse, as something welcomed and dreaded. Most of all, it shows that `periods' bond all women across time and culture.

Several stories look at menstruation in a modern vein. Losing It is a wrenching look at losing one's virginity; an antidote to the Hollywood romanticism of the "first time." The Uterus Fairy is a cross-generational look at, well, uteruses. The mother is mourning an impending hysterectomy; her daughter is worrying about a possible pregnancy. The Heroic Quest of Douglas McGawain is one of the few comic tales and the only one told from a male's point of view (this "knight's" quest involves
tampons!)

Several stories look at menstruation from different cultural or historical perspectives. Getting one's period as a noblewoman in pre-revolutionary Russia meant being eligible for marriage to a politically-correct man. Instead, The Czarevna of Muscovy longs to be one of the dancing peasants she spies in the village courtyard; her pining has drastic consequences. Ritual Purity is a fascinating look at the Othrodox Jewish tradition of mikveh (monthly cleansing bath) and a troubled teen who seeks meaning in tradition and family. Moon Time Child is a look at a slave girl's dread of her "moon time" knowing that it will mark her as a "breeder" and mean a further loss of freedom.

Several stories transcend time and place. Sleeping Beauty is a musing on fairytales and menarche. Transfusion is a dramatic story of a mentally-ill woman's blood infusing another woman's life with meaning and strength. In a second powerful story, Maroon, a young girl worships her older, `hipper' cousin only to discover that her "hero" has done the unforgivable: become pregnant out of wedlock.

Some of the stories have violent themes although not graphically portrayed. There is also some adult language and sexual situations --again, not graphic. The very theme of the collection will be off-putting for some, titillating for others. The attractive cover and breezy fly ("Whether your cycle is regular or random, you prefer chocolate or chips, you break out or remain zit-free, you period is an indelible fact of life...") makes this book appear to be light-weight reading. But those who pick it up will be rewarded with uniformly high-quality writing. A great addition to high school collections,
middle school (with caveats) and certainly a women's studies course.

I just read the new book Don't Cramp My Style. The story "The Women's House" in it is awesome! Wow! I cried at the end. I became totally immersed in the story and felt that I was right there observing the young girl and her family. The story involves the behaviors and customs of young Native Americans girls as they reach puberty and begin their first blood. It was written through the eyes of Sparrow Song, a young Native American girl, which made it very realistic and extremely touching.

Dreaming In Color Living In Black And White: Our Own Stories of Growing Up Black in America by Laurell Holliday is about a girl name Sarah. She thinks everything around her is full of darkness because of her skin color.She is a good girl and a very smart student. She does everything just to impress her teacher and all the people around her. The people don`t even care how hard she works. No matter what she does or write in school that is good or even excellent,the teachers never believe that she did it,just because she was black. One day she decided to quit her job as a cook and follow the footsteps of Dr.Martin Luther King Jr. to change the world. I think the book was good because it shows us how black people suffered. I recommend this book to everyone. Everyone should read this book! BY: MOHAMED

This book was very exciting. It shows how blacks were discriminated. It tell story's about blacks from the 20 century or it shows you present day prejidism. This book open minds telling story's of great blacks you never even heard of. It shows how much blacks took and how blacks are taking it now. I reccommend this book to young people.

Wow! This book was so touching and emotional. I read this book a few days ago after I saw it in the library. It consists of many different experiences of African-American people who suffered discrimination and racial abuse. It goes deep and shows you how it really was like to be them and how they felt. The *N word appears numerous of times so it might offend some people. I would really recommend this book to anyone!

This book is about Ken and Alley who go to De Dannan Isle and meet other children and go on an adventure. They have to fight an evil emperor as he is going to destroy the island.

This book is about Ken and Alley who go to De Dannan Isle and meet other children and go on an adventure. They have to fight an evil emperor as he is going to destroy the island.

what a fun read - be sure to read book 1 before this one.

I wish I could find book 3 and 4 of this series for a decent price.

I may not be a Yanks fan (actually I'm sick of the Yanks) but Hernandez went on along path to freedom from communism. That's something all of us take for granted. You have read this book!

Being a die-hard Yanks fan living on the west coast, reading this book made me feel the pulse of the city where baseball is king (after Rudy G, of course). Mr. Lafreniere has done it again! Kudos Kenneth!

This is one of the best books I have read. As a die-hard Yankee fan, I love El Duque, and was excited to read his biography. I highly recommend this book to baseball fans everywhere!!!

Rodney Jones is the best Southern poet working today

Rodney Jones is among the most unique poets we've ever had--he can make you smile; he can hurt you good. His ear for the cadences of speech--all speech, from the corn pone plain-spoken to academic nit-wittery--is superb. He gets better every book, and he was fabulous three or four books back.

Rodney Jones can tell the kind of stories that get you through a hard night or accompany you on a journey home. He writes in a cranked-up, gentled-out vernacular that is as sturdy and dependable as an old hickory, but his lyric gifts make blossoms spring forth even in the coldest times. His South is a place in the heart and a place in the mouth where we can commit beauty or atrocity but where we are always revealing, under his hand, our proud and vulnerable humanity. This will be the best book of poetry published in English this year.