Friday, June 26, 2015

PEDESTAL MAGAZINE, 76, REVIEW


As I mentioned in my last post, Pedestal Magazine, Issue 76, is available. It was published June 22, 2015. I have a piece in it called “Gaunt,” which is about the creature I consider to be my muse. When I first got access to the magazine, I posted about its availability on my blog. Then I began reading the other poems and was blown away. I realized I wanted to do a longer post and review. This is one of the best collections from varied poets that I’ve ever read, and I feel very lucky to have my piece in this mix. Bruce Boston and Marge Simon, who served as editors for this particular issue, deserve a lot of credit. I don’t normally do reviews of magazines like this but felt compelled to in this case. Here are my capsule thoughts on the poems, without any spoilers: 

1. Lewis Carroll Knew My Family: A Series, Diana Smith Bolton: The Red Queen, The White Rabbit, The Cheshire Cat. They’re all here. Alice’s Adventures are such surreal works in their own right, and here we have the surrealistic elements taken to another level. The resonance here is intense.

2. Miracles, Ken Poyner: Genetics gone wild. This is a poem of ideas, touching on one of the biggest scientific advances of our age.

3. Critique of Car Accident Art Museum, Ross Wilcox: The melding of the machine and human. The stanzas consist of “exhibits” described. Each alters your reality a little further.

4. Lunar Eclipse by the Chitose River, December 10, 2011, Stephen Toskar: My favorite poetry often revels in contrast. Here we have such contrasts as warmth and cold, sex and fear. The last stanza is perhaps my favorite in the collection. I won’t quote it; you have to read it with all that’s gone before.

5. And Then the Stars… Mack W. Mani: Very grounded piece. A poem about reality, though it has the stars. Lots of subtext. I’m sure I didn’t catch it all.

6. Time Capsule, Rose Blackthorn: What comes after. The post-apocalyptic world as a time capsule.

7. Tourists Do Not Touch the God, Andrew Pidoux: What happens when even the Gods grow old. I liked the humorous images in this.

8. Venetian Red (for Michael Nathan), Steven Ratiner: Images of the old world’s beauty. An invocation to a past age, and a present.

9. Tether, Christina Zawadiwsky: a free for all of beautiful images and thoughts. Not quite free association. A stream of resonant consciousness. Perhaps my overall favorite of the pieces, although my favorite also seems to change with every reading of these works.

10. Gaunt, Charles Gramlich: The shortest poem in the mag.

11. The Dark Side of The Force in Relation to Art (Remarks by Lord Vader), Frederick Pollack: If Lord Vader gave a commencement address, what might he say?

12. Whatever Happened to Scott Carey?, Richard Bruns: Metamorphosis. Why me? Why not you?

13. Selenites, John Philip Johnson: How many will know that word, “Selenites.” I know it. So alien this piece, and yet familiar to us from the history of philosophy.

14. Crow Mother (for Frida Kahlo), Linda Rodriguez: The juxtaposition of beauty and the grotesque. Great fun to read aloud.

15. Schizophrenic Conversation at the Four Winds Bar: A Poem of Blues-Rock Numbers, and Crap-Game Numerology, Fred R. Kane: Reads like your favorite drunken night in an old blues bar. It happened, if only you could remember more than snatches. At the right moment, this one could be my favorite too.

16. Analog Reincarnation, Gary Singh: Life captured by a camera, and then by words. We step back two paces from reality to get a better view.

17. The Alien Ruins, Daniel Ausema: My favorite title. It already evokes my imagination. What will we find when we first make contact? A living race, or a lost one? And how will we come to know them?

18. Copernicus, Dane Cervine: Life and death and wonder.

19. Flyology, Gabrielle Bates: A feeling of lightness of being comes through in this one. Sometimes this is my favorite. The language flows so smoothly.

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18 comments:

Cloudia said...

You always bring a fresh voice and opinion, Charles. I appreciate that.




ALOHA
ComfortSpiral
=^..^=

Charles Gramlich said...

Cloudia, thankee

Anonymous said...

Thank you for the generous review/preview; I am on my way now to the Pedestal site for a buffet filled with morsels new to me: speculative poetry. Again, thanks.

Prashant C. Trikannad said...

Charles, apart from your own, I read a couple of other poems and liked them too. This form of poetry is new for me.

Charles Gramlich said...

R. T., good stuff.

Prashant, this is mainly the kind of poetry I read these days.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

From the descriptions, this sounds like a really unique collection.

Charles Gramlich said...

Alex, speculative poetry at its best.

sage said...

It sounds like there's a lot of creativity in this issue. Congratulations on your work appearing in another publication.

pattinase (abbott) said...

Sounds amazing, Charles. Lovely to be included. Congrats!

Charles Gramlich said...

Sage, Thanks, man.

Patti, yes, very nice.

Barbara Martin said...

Speculative poetry...it was bound to happen. Sounds good.

Oscar Case said...

I like the cover, anyway.

Charles Gramlich said...

Barbara, Mostly is the only type I write.

Oscar, yes, it's cool

Sarah Hina said...

I really liked this poem of yours, Charles, and congrats on your acceptance. You're always generous in your taking the time to review others, which I really appreciate.

Tiny bit jealous since they rejected me. But mostly happy, promise. :)

Charles Gramlich said...

Sarah, thanks for the kind words. They had a lot of submissions as I understand.

Chris said...

I need to check this out. I've read more poetry in the last year than I probably have the previous 40-odd combined, and it is still very hit and miss with me. Still plugging away at it, though, looking for what grabs me.

Riot Kitty said...

Congratulations, Charles! That is quite impressive. Tight market, according to my sci fi writer bro.

Charles Gramlich said...

Chris, a lot of this one grabbed me pretty good.

Riot Kitty, thanks. I had some luck.