Count Four arrives as Kieth Kopka’s debut poetry collection; it contains some 32 pieces informed by working class struggles, and populated by the denizens of working class backwaters. Kopka turns a felicitous phrase on occasion, but overall this collection reads like flash fiction written in verse form. In seedy or shady or poverty-stricken circumstances, his characters strive to rise above the lots they have been handed; mostly there are no answers here, only disturbing questions.Kopka does flash...
June 02, 2021
"Maison Cristina" by Eugene K. Garber
In Maison Cristina we encounter Peter Naughton, an old man whose son has committed him to the care of Catholic nuns in a New Orleans facility for mental patients. Author Eugene K. Garber shows off his protagonist’s learning throughout the book. He’s a teller of stories, a knower of arcane facts, an inveterate user and weaver of words. The nuns at the Maison enlist his help in treating a haunted young woman who has been scarred into silence. This is quirky, memorable, and affecting work.Garber...
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