A Couple Reviews

That prolific reader and writer named Ethel Rohan reviewed Mairéad Byrne's book, The Best of (What's Left of) Heaven, for Hobart. Go Read It with a pint of Guinness. The review says, "You should read this collection in its entirety. Then reread it." It also says,

I saw so much of myself, of my Irishness, in these poems and white spaces. While there are few surface references to Ireland, she permeates everything. I recognized the Irish obsession with the weather and place, with routine and everydayness. I saw how we use humor as salve, deflector, and to save our sanity. I also witnessed our psychic scars from colonization, brutality, and patriarchy. Our great joy and searing sadness. Strength. Courage. Imagination. Uniqueness.

I heard our gift of the gab and our stubborn silence. Above all, I heard echoes of the great Irish writers that have gone before us and that remain among us.

Meanwhile, I wrote about Maribor, a great book by Demosthenes Agrafiotis (and translated by John Sakkis and his Uncle Angelos) over at htmlgiant.