Pitt Books

wow, Vaz never ceases to amaze me. her writing is so powerful, these stories made me laugh and cry and and dance in the rain and talk to purple and plant orchids and and my god, it is endless! Vaz has the amazing ability to express her thoughts in the fewest words possible, making the stories all the more breathtaking. these stories capture life and humanity in its rawest, most honest form. love, truth, passion, longing, joy, sacrafice, these stories are the embodiment of every hidden aspect of YOU that you'll never know exisited until you read these words of an angel...

This book really puts Katherine Vaz at a new level.Her other books were great also but Fado really gripped me and made me think about life. Would be of benefit to all

A mixture of Billy Collins, Jack Handey, and, when he's on his best game, Jorge Luis Borges... Some are gems, such as "Halo," "While I Sleep" and "Dying Park" -- short journeys into a magical moment or realm (hence the comparison to Borges)... When he's not on his best game, well, at least prose poems are short. :)

David Shumate's aptly titled collection is an attractive gathering of prose poems. He maintains a simple sensibility throughout the book, and never breaks from its undemanding, unadorned wit to try and make any bold statements about the human condition, his struggles with spirituality, or the difficulties that present themselves when men and women begin to entangle their desires. These themes all make appearances in various places, in "Learning to Eat a Pomegranate", "Wisdom", and "Boarding the Bus to Gomorrah (to name a few), but Shumate steadfastly refuses to pummel us over the head with his ideas about what's important in life or the rules by which one should live and believe. He stays clever and simple (in all the best meanings of the word).

Normally, I get a sense of revulsion when I read clever or witty poetry, but Shumate has struck a strong balance between the witty and the beautiful or mystical, as seen in "Fresh Fish" when he gets confused on the way back from the fish market and begins cooking a fish "in the red hot center" of his desk at work, where his peers have gathered to watch his "professional demise". They are all surprised as the fish begins to sizzle:

"Its sweet aroma fills the air. After a few minutes, my boss clears his throat and suggests it's about time to flip the fish and grill it on the other side. Everyone agrees. Yes. Clearly. It is time to flip the fish."
Ostensibly, Shumate offers us a look at the mystical quality of aging, how the world might start to change, or become mystical again, as we get older and lose some of the faculties which hold reality in place as it seems to be. But he never tells us this. He allows the mysticism and wit of these brief episodes to speak for themselves, as in "Wisdom" where he recalls a village he once came across where everyone was wise. The citizens perform uncharacteristic actions that seem to combine the everyday with the imagined life of a Greek philosopher: "a policeman contemplating an April morning from a gazebo," or "the barber clipping an old man's hair in the park." Shumate recalls asking someone for directions who points him in the direction of a nearby forest. "He said that's usually where people go when they are lost."

We don't have to guess at what Shumate is trying to tell us about the nature of philosophy or wisdom. He's saying very little that's fresh or new, and I think he knows it. That's why he doesn't bother beating us over the head with the obvious. He just proves to us that what we already know is still beautiful and doesn't need to be rediscovered, just revisited sometimes.

This collection touches on a variety of topics, but Shumate returns again and again to the themes of faith and the mind's ability to transform reality. He leaves me with a sense of wonder. First, that someone can keep my attention through a collection of almost sixty prose poems, and second, that something can be simultaneously clever, poignant, and beautiful and become more than the sum of its parts.

Shumate clearly listens to the advice he gives in "Making a Forest":
"It's a delicate and ancient process. You must offer each seed to the soil tenderly. As if it were a virgin and you were a friend of the family." He has created a forest out of brief glimpses, and it's an eyeful.

John Hodgen's Grace hovers like an angel between heaven and earth. His images are at once tragic, at once comical, at once poignant and redemptive. Hodgen leads readers on a faith journey that reveals the essence of life as both beautiful and terrible, yet he always ends with a note of hope. He demonstrates a love for the craft of poetry and a sensitivity to his reader as he reveals how the simplest things - the discovery of a forgotten letter, a lost bird, a small town, an old song, even an event at the Coolawhatchie Blimpie Gas 'n' Go - can lead us to a deeper understanding of the world and ourselves. Hodgen's sensitive and masterful use of rhyme scheme in certain poems in this book makes it a powerful tool for other writers to use in honing their craft.

Reviewer Paul Mariani wrote on the back cover of Grace: "Hard and dark as the world of these poems often is, Hodgen manages again and again to somehow transform the crucified world into a dazzling vortex of language and syntax and yet authentic shivelights of grace. Here is a unique and unmistakable voice for our moment." Well said! If you're seeking inspirational, powerful reading as well as help in perfecting the craft of poetry, Grace is your answer.

I have, for the most part, grown out of the poetry "phase" that I went through in high school. Ten years later John Hodgen's books are the only poetry books that remain on my shelf.

This is, by far, his best work.

Robin Becker writes about being a woman, feminist and a Jew using the historical personas of painters Rosa Bonheur and Charlotte Solomon. As always, Becker writes from her own point of view in a way that speaks to all of us about love, frienship and family. A wonderful addition to her ouvre!

Robin Becker writes about being a woman, feminist and a Jew using the historical personas of painters Rosa Bonheur and Charlotte Solomon. As always, Becker writes from her own point of view in a way that speaks to all of us about love, frienship and family. A wonderful addition to her ouvre!

Collaboratively researched and written by Janet Carey Eldred (Associate Professor of English, University of Kentucky) and Peter Mortensen (Associate Professor of English, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign), Imagining Rhetoric: Composing Women Of The Early United States is a scholarly and revealing study of how women's writing developed in the era between the American Revolution and the Civil War. A truly fascinating look at how educated women used the power of the pen to promote civic goals, as well as how a new female readership emerged and changed the as yet fledgling book industry, Imagining Rhetoric is a highly recommended contribution to Women's Studies and Literary History reference collections and academic reading lists.

Collaboratively researched and written by Janet Carey Eldred (Associate Professor of English, University of Kentucky) and Peter Mortensen (Associate Professor of English, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign), Imagining Rhetoric: Composing Women Of The Early United States is a scholarly and revealing study of how women's writing developed in the era between the American Revolution and the Civil War. A truly fascinating look at how educated women used the power of the pen to promote civic goals, as well as how a new female readership emerged and changed the as yet fledgling book industry, Imagining Rhetoric is a highly recommended contribution to Women's Studies and Literary History reference collections and academic reading lists.

This woman is tough on ghosts! She doesn't want to settle for a spook that she can't see---no plate-throwing entity for her unless she can actually view the spirit in question! Ingrid Pitt, best known as Hammer Film's beautiful scream-queen, turns in her vampire fangs for a ghosthunter's kit. From Europe to the U.S.A., she collects and spins ghostly tales, relating the details with a wink and a nudge. Starting with her own ghostly
experience, a touching encounter with the spirit of her deceased father who appeared to look into the little face of the granddaughter he didn't live to see, Ingrid Pitt launches into an entertaining array of ghost stories, from the terrible thing at No. 50 Berkley Square to James Dean's cursed car. Her natural humor shines through every story, but she is an exceptional storyteller! She also includes a film directory of the most spooky movies ever made. It would have been interesting to have featured actual photos of some of the castles and houses featured in the stories, but the illustrations by Jim Bailey were very cool, and added a nice touch.

Ingrid Pitt's complete lowdown on ghosts, phantoms, apparitions and poltergeists and where to find them examines modern and past spooks alike, with black and white illustrations and an foreword by Uri Geller accompanying essential a collection of ghost stories with extra notes on where to locate the spirits. A collection sure to attract any interested in haunting.

I loved it. The best book on the former Soviet Union that I have read. If you like history this is a must read. Also look for Heinzen on the History channel.

I stumbled across this book in my local book store, bought it here, and proceeded to read it cover to cover in only a few days. It is well written and thouroughly researched. I never really thought Russian history could prove to be a page-turning experience but Heinzen does a masterful job at illustrating the transformation of the Russian state.

This book has lots of useful information. The tips will more than pay for the book if you actively pursue marketing an invention. The coupons in the back alone will save many times the cost of the book if you use one or two of them.

This book is a wealth of information and a must-read for anyone embarking on the journey of inventing. As the title suggests - this book addresses a problem that plagues many inventors - how to go about protecting and bringing a product to market with little or no finances. The information provided by these proven authors details the steps you need to take to make your dreams and ambitions a reality, along the way debunking myths like the "poor man's patent" (mailing your ideas in a sealed and dated envelope, page 48). If you have a great idea and looking for guidance, this is a sound blueprint clearly written from the point of view of experience and I highly recommend it.

Had a collection of Kathleen Norris's poetry come out a few years ago, I would have bought it, and never had the pleasure of searching for and finding her earlier, out-of-print books. For those less motivated to hunt for Falling Off, The Middle of the World, The Year of Common Things, and Astronomy of Love, this is perfect buy as it includes most of the poems in those collections as well as poems from her more recent book of poems, Little Girls in Church.

The cover art isn't especially beautiful (surprising since it is a University of Pitt Press book) and the title is a bit weak, but let neither of these things discourage you from purchasing the book. If you're a fan of any of KN's work (non-fiction or poetry), you'll want this collection. If you're a ardent reader of contemporary poetry, you'll want this collection. If you'd never read poetry beyond high school, you'll want to open this book, as it will surely make you hungry for more poetry.

Like her instructions to angels in her poem "Excerpts from the Angel Handbook," she is always asking us to be open and wary, skeptical and believing, and dreaming and restless. Her poems implore us to be better than we are, to listen more closely to the music in our head, and to watch out for and care for the lonely traveler, the needy neighbor, the lost among us, and the loving.

Now I see so clearly on the days
when rain turns to snow
wind passes quickly
along the surfaces of things,
how calmly it probes this chilly place
where I have moved
with everything I own.

~ from Evaporation poem 3

While reading Kathleen Norris' poems, I cannot help feeling nostalgic for a life I've never lived. Then, suddenly she writes about a part of a life I have lived and I can somehow relate to both situations.

I started to read this book months ago, and then finally decided to read three poetry books all in a row. I am impressed with Kathleen's poems because they take many forms and express a wide range of emotions. She is the ever-observant poet who can remember the exact details of her experiences, right down to the exact wording of various conversations.

"Excerpts from the Angel Handbook" threw me into an instant state of amusement. In this poem angels are instructed in such important principles as hiding their wings or listening and never telling a lie.

You will never tell a lie,
but you will have many secrets.

In fact, the poem amused me so much... I am going to send it to a friend who claims he is an angel. I'm amused.

Then, onward to the erotic musings in "The Dancers." In this poem, a preacher's daughter reveals her thoughts about a farmer boy.

Through reading Kathleen's poetry, you enter her inner world and peer out through her words, observing the sheer magnificence of a world in which a poet dances.

The first few poems( 1969-1973) seem to have a coolness in their observation. By the time you reach "Inheritance" on page 31, you can feel Kathleen starting to really delve into her deeper emotions.

The poems from 1982-1986 are filled with surprises. Anyone who loves to cook will enjoy the exuberant "Pommes de Terre." If you are looking for something a little more innocently erotic, you might enjoy "Young Lovers with Pizza."

By the time you reach the poems from 1987-1999, you have seen Kathleen explore so many emotions and worlds. She seems to be returning to deeply rooted traditions. She says goodbye to those she loves, she seems to be searching for meaning and then finally seems to find a place for God in her life.

I also loved the last poem and especially the last six lines about the bumblebee.

~The Rebecca Review

I'm taking a class on Deep Image poetry, and let me tell you, I had a hard time differentiating between deep image and surrealism. I consider myself to be a surrealist so it was hard to bridge the small gap, but Bly did a wonderful job of walking me through what deep image is in this work of art.

'In ancient times, in the "time of inspiration", the poet flew from one world to another, "riding on dragons".... They dragged behind them long tails of dragonsmoke.... This dragonsmoke means that a leap has taken place in the poem. In many ancient works of art we notice a long floating leap at the center of a work. That leap can be described as a leap from the conscious to the unconscious and back again, a leap from the known part of the mind to the unknown part and back to the known.'

So begins one of the most fascinating books I have read in the past several years. Robert Bly gives us his wonderful idea about "leaping", surreal poetry and pays homage to the modern masters of this method, largely Spanish poets such as Neruda, Lorca and Vallejo. Involved in this idea are the concepts of Wild Association and the presence of three brains involved in a complex relationship within the human mind.

After this book, you will never look at art, any art, the same way again.