Bøger udgivet af Ink Brush Press

"The first note is almost struck..." says poet John Milkereit as he ferries us into a world resting on an amalgamated deconstruction of our times-movies and movie stars, French kickboxing, designer jeans, cheese snacks, meth and modern art-which he uses to invent a surprisingly rich and gloriously modern edifice.

Chera Hammons' 'Recycled Explosions' places us in an elusive and at times frightening narrative, moving along Judas-filled landscapes where we may or may not "find a way back to what [we] know." Perhaps whatever inheritance we once had-or believed in-is gone. Still, Hammons "keeps vigil." Her poems remind us that, despite the times we live in, we seek to be blessed, even if the angel we wrestle turns out to be only a "reflection" of ourselves.

The strongest witness poetry can make is to the personal life-and when that personal life is extraordinary, then extraordinary poems can come forth. Such is the life of Brian Thornton, who as a young man lost most of his sight, who has performed in a carnival sideshow, and who has lived and traveled in the mideast during the joy and violence of the Arab Spring. And 'Places We Were Never Meant To See' traces these movements of a life, in carefully crafted language and rhythms that befit such a life and those who have touched it. Reaching into our oldest themes and deepest fears, these poems discover the vision found in darkness, inviting us to "let the evening bring the chance for you to see."

This is a fun-to-read family history of the Craven family. Dr. Gail Craven Fail makes use of her training in methods of scientific research to examine a wide range of Craven family matters. You will be delighted with her lively writing about elements from the Celtic era to today, from the Domesday Book to genealogical studies, from Devonshire to dogtrot, from Robert de Craven to Gorman Craven, and much more.

Wherever Robin McCorquodale turns her eye she finds a world awash in color and texture which she then hands to us inside the basket woven by her surprising, resonant imagery.

The Juggler of the book's title is at once a literal image-a performer, a busker you might say-and a metaphor shared among many of the poems that describe scenes we understand far too well. The book draws much of its power from this shared metaphor and from Alan Gann's sharing his experiences, letting us see with him along his journey-and, then, finally, letting us all ask important and retrospective questions.

Fox's poetic canvas is vast, deftly painted with an array of dazzling colors. The subjects of her poems are as intriguingly eclectic as her spot-on allusions. She writes of family, travel, the joy of perception and reflection, the arts, and the facets of her Jewish heritage, and she does so with an ease of diction which belies the consummate poetic skill subtly manifest in each and every poem, ..".refracting / light into spectral colors."

Drawing upon cultural myths to explain his personal and family myths, R. Scott Yarbrough writes poems that will touch you with their lyrical intensity, will engage you with vivid anecdotes, will offer emotional experiences made vivid by a masterful use of images, and will leave you with feelings and ideas worth pondering.

In Jim McGarrah's third poetry collection, the present is often eclipsed by the ghosted past of Vietnam. These vital poems dwell in the inevitable privacy of being human, and it is in these starkly singular spaces-walking the dog, truckstopping for breakfast, closing the bar at 2 am, visiting Vietnamese children suffering the effects of Agent Orange-that McGarrah wrestles truth with music, grit and wry humor. As the poet sways between sobriety and stupor, bearing witness to the horror of being alive and the horror of going on, he too leads us through that slim midnight portal into rugged grace, where a worn ball cap becomes a whiskey-washed Eucharist and the cast of the missing creates the genius of absence. When transcendence comes, it is no lavish exaltation, but something far more real and astonishing.

Jan Seale writes lyric poetry with a gift of intimacy, wrapping readers in rich, absorbing scenes and seeing. The sense of invitation in her poems-welcome to this moment, this perception, this life-is openhearted and abundant. Her language unfurls deliciously.

Karla K. Morton's photographs are as sharp-edged as some of the tree branches and animal bones they depict. They are carefully composed and at the same time luminous. Her country buildings convey a touching nostalgia. And many of her landscapes capture the elegance and nobility of the natural world. Each of Alan Birkelbach's poems takes its cue from a Morton picture, stays true to the subject, then quickly-magically-moves into its own terrain, a region where image turns into memory and meditation. This combination of photograph-and-poem is highly satisfying. The two art forms are a perfect fit.

Human Resources is a collection of brutal honesty shot through with longing.Waters keeps a close eye fixed on the personal while his poems wrestle history, faith, the darkness and absurdity of the human condition. Waters is a wonderfulpoet-at turns funny and heartbreaking-and certainly one to watch for thelong haul.