Arts & Crafts | Book Reviews

Gathered Here Today from Graveside Press is truly an incredible book! The poetry is dark and haunting, but at times light-hearted (even amidst the blood and bones). The art is just as amazing as the writing—so there's something for everyone to stare at and digest! I find the last line from the last poem in this book (WHAT WAITS BEHIND THE TINY BLACK DOOR – Joshua Dobson) to be very fitting: "Then it opened." This truly is an open casket of art and poetry to be devoured! Bel

First off, the main character and first-person narrator, Tom Dunjer, had no business being as funny as he was. I probably spent more time grinning at the book than I did reading it. Specterworld by Isidore Haiblum is an incredible, fast-paced, and very timely read. You'd be surprised (or wouldn't be, I suppose it depends) how well this story published in 1991 holds up! I enjoy Haiblum's style of writing, and his descriptions, in this book—more often than not—his words helped

"the point is transparency, and i’ve been opaque for too long" (iv) is a line that I think perfectly encapsulates this micro-chapbook by Emily Perkovich as a whole. The poems inside callmeanonymous   are raw, honest, and pack a punch! I love the fact that the poems are all lowercase—I don't remember which English teacher taught me this, but I was taught when the ‘I’ isn't capitalized, it shows that the speaker feels insignificant—and I feel like that definitely fits here; an

"feminity is godly but oh so deathly it is the warmest of demons; harvester of souls" (bloodline) The Female Experience by Luna Ferguson is like a warm hug from, and a good cry with, someone who understands. There is an insane darkness that I think lingers in every woman, like Luna wrote in "the things he did": untouched women do not exist —this collection of poetry perfectly captures said darkness; the things that affect and haunt us all. And between the honesty and brutal

[TRANSLATION BELOW] Gepubliseer in 1988, dink ek Vyffff deur De Waal Venter was heeltemaal voor sy tyd. Die boek is snaaks, en ñ vinnige en aangrypende lees! Ek dink Vyffff is (soos hulle sê) baie "campy," en het die potensiaal om ñ "cult classic" te wees. Dit was lekker om ñ ruimtefantasie in my eerste taal te lees; en die binne-grappies was buite die wêreld (woordspeling bedoel!) Ek dink verder die boek se titel is oulik—ek meen dit verwys na Waldemar (hoofkarakter) se vyf

Suburban Monsters by Christopher Hawkins is an insanely dark and twisted read (which is to say I loved every story!) I picked it out of a BookFunnel promotion sometime last year, and while reading, some of the stories felt familiar to me. I went back to see when they were first published, and realized it’s entirely possible that I stumbled upon them when I was cruising around on the internet for horror stories as a teen! It felt like coming home (a broken, haunted home at th

The Twisted Fates: Unearthly Lessons in Darkness by J.P. Alters was, for me, an incredible read! I love stories having to do with darkness, the paranormal and the fantastical—this book has it all, and then some! I don't think I can pick a favourite story in this collection, but believe me when I tell you there were many jaw-dropping and chilling moments. The Twisted Fates is perfect for anyone looking to devour some wonderfully crafted stories in a single book!

Paramnesia from Grendel Press is THE horror anthology to read if you want stories that are going to stick with you and leave you wondering long after you've read them! My thoughts on each story: • Rogue Taxidermy – Dustin Reade I'm absolutely in love, and in awe of how macabre this is. Not so much taxidermy as a hobby, but the way it—and Martha's love for it—is described. The author perfectly captured dread and death with this story, and I found the ending perfect! • Real E

The Musings of a Crazy Cat Lady in the Dark by Valerie Fabian is an honest and heart-warming read! This collection of poetry covers many topics—love, heartbreak, grief, changing seasons, and many more. Valerie Fabian's poems range from to-the-point, to filled with stunning imagery! True to its title, there are quite a few humorous moments that left me smiling. The title also captures the contents of the book fully because of the way the poems almost read as a stream of consc

Little Chaos from Collective Tales Publishing is a must-read! Here are some little (ish) thoughts of mine on each piece: • CASSANDRA – ELIZABETH RAYNE This poem is so bone-chilling and has incredible descriptors! • SALINE SALUTATIONS – JONATHAN REDDOCH That joke about the metric system got me good, then the rest of the story continued to DESTROY me with how heart-wrenching it was (emotional rollercoaster recommended!) MOON-EYED NIGHTMARE – JONATHAN REDDOCH Compact horror tha

In This Macrocosm There Is A Rose by Fin Rose Aborizk is a collection so honest and raw, it basically moved me to tears. Fin Rose’s recounting of heartbreak is something I felt very deeply in my chest; she did not pull her punches—and this remains true as the poetry moves on and evolves into new love: they make sure you can feel that love just as deeply as you felt the ache. Reading pieces like "Why Can’t I Just Live In Poetry?," "I’m Just A Poet," "The House Became Abandone

Heartstrings and Hellish Things by Lauren Green is an absolute work of art! This whole pamphlet of poetry made me feel seen, as if Lauren was inside my brain while writing nearly every poem. I'm a HUGE lover of the writing Lauren shares on Instagram, so it's no surprise to me that this collection left me wanting MORE. I feel the themes can all be put under an umbrella I'm calling "dark and heavy thoughts," which leads me to: just how damn fitting the title is. These poems wi

"Only I was blessed to be able to fight For their freedom with my pen and my voice Not forced to do it with my flesh and my bones" [My Sister by Ramona McCloskey] — These lines encompass what this anthology is all about for me: Writers coming together and using their pens to speak out against the genocide currently taking place in Palestine. We Were Seeds is a heartbreaking read, with threads of hope still woven throughout. It's also a very necessary anthology, showcasing ho

Without being overly dramatic, I wanted to rate this book five stars basically directly after I finished the first poem. But fret not, I read the whole thing and then I STILL wanted to rate it five stars. So, I did. Metamodern Morning Angst and Other Horrors by TS S. Fulk is a collection of poetry that held my attention from the start, and is still refusing to let go. The poetry ranges from deep and true, to speculative and mind-bending, and through it all, the use of langua

True to the statement: "This is by no means a well rounded or comprehensive overview of the complicated collected lore that faekind have chronicled about the depravity of humans" on the back cover— Tales Faeries Tell About Humans by Freya Binkley is a truly mind-bending read that forces the reader to pause and ponder. Freya makes use of stunning metaphors and descriptive imagery throughout each and every piece! For example: "... curls back like a child with hurt feelings."

you told me not to write about you is a collection of poetry that will haunt you long after you finish reading it! "stuck in lowercase" is the poem that, to me, perfectly encapsulates the heartache and feeling of loss (of a person, of yourself) after a relationship so toxic; a poem in which kayjah taylor captures the theme of her book so well (it's also why i'm typing my review in all lowercase 👀) the emotions in this book are very real and very palpable; kayjah is a master

First of all, the title is so damn fitting. The themes and imagery of withering, and then rising from it all (like a phoenix) is so prominent throughout the entire collection that I can't imagine it being called anything else. The melancholy and heartache in this collection is so vivid and personal, yet relatable — you feel it in your bones either way. I'm absolutely in love with the flow of the pieces; they transition from one into the other seamlessly (in a way that you can

This collection takes you on a journey from adolescence into adulthood, and - the after. - This is very well executed; in the first few pieces the perspective is filled with wonder and questions, this changes through the course of this thirty-piece journey as the speaker grows into adulthood and gains experience. So many beautiful lines stood out to me, especially: • "My beloved cocoon, I’ve outgrown your love" (My Beloved Cocoon) and • "To me, old age is an apple tree" (I

I was lucky enough to review the ARCs of the original set of Dark Decades  anthologies, as well as be included in "Are You Watching?" with my short story "It's Always Saturday"—which you can find in this omnibus too! Dark Decades: A Century of Technological Terror is packed full of the best horror stories you can possibly find, anywhere, ever, I mean it. Seriously. I mean it. Robin Knabel has a knack for finding the best of the best (I don't say that just because she publishe

Hope Screams Eternal is an amazing book. There’s art, poetry, and fiction—everything you could want in a book all rolled into one! This book is creatively separated into three parts, each a word of the title, with the pieces perfectly matching the part it’s under! Here are some quick thoughts I had about each part: Part I: HOPE Hope comes in all shapes and sizes, some darker than others. Part II: SCREAMS Screaming implies something large, something that echoes. Yet the silen