Clouds in my coffee.
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Author: Stephen Page.
Stephen Page is from Detroit. He is part Shawnee and part Apache. He is the author of three books of poetry - A Ranch Bordering the Salty River, The Timbre of Sand, and Still Dandelions. He holds two AA’s from Palomar College, a BA from Columbia University, and an MFA from Bennington College. He also attended Broward College. His literary criticisms have appeared regularly in the Buenos Aires Herald, How Journal, Gently Read Literature, North of Oxford, and the Fox Chase Review. His fiction has been published in Quarto, The Whistling Fire, and Amphibi. He is the recipient of The Jess Cloud Memorial Prize, a Writer-in-Residence from the Montana Artists Refuge, a Full Fellowship from the Vermont Studio Center, an Imagination Grant from Cleveland State University, and an Arvon Foundation Ltd. Grant. He loves his wife, travel, family, and friends.
City of Shadow — Cleaning up Glitter
City of Shadow — Cleaning up Glitter
— Read on www.cleaningupglitter.com/city-of-shadow
Books Are Arriving
Cortically Tasty
“Unrest” by Chloe Yelena Miller and pubbed by Finishing Line Press
Flavorful verse. Cortically tasty. Poetically scrumptious. #poetry #chapbook #goodread
Good Vibes Only
The Poetry Question
#TPQ5: STEPHEN PAGE
What will Stephen Page, author of The Salty River Bleeds and three other books of poetry – A Ranch Bordering the Salty River, The Timbre of Sand, and Still Dandelions, include in today’s #TPQ5? Find out inside! — The Poetry Question
Finishing Line Press Rustin Larson Vi Khi Nao Honorée Fanonne Jeffers Mei-Ling Hopgood Layli LongSoldier https://thepoetryquestion.com/2019/10/09/tpq5-stephen-page/
Chorizos!! Choripán!!
Moms are the Best
My mom took this photo of my latest published book.
A Ranch Bordering the Salty River by Stephen Page Finishing Line Press book review by Mihir Shah And US Review of Books
“I was a soldier, a janitor, a mobster.
now I administrate. I was
a cowboy, a deputy, a sheriff. Now
I judge.”
now I administrate. I was
a cowboy, a deputy, a sheriff. Now
I judge.”
A surreal glimpse into the inner workings of ranch life sheds light on the simplicity and beauty of oneness with nature. In this fusion of poetry and narrative, Page does a commendable job of juxtaposing the daily hustle of ranch life with the opportunity to pause and enjoy the moment. The imagery of Jonathan and his wife sipping mate, a caffeine-rich drink, as the much-needed rain patters down is a refreshing reminder to appreciate time and simply observe nature at work. Throughout the book, chaos and harmony work in tandem to create a mood that is simultaneously whimsical and idyllic.
While many of the poems are relatable to nature lovers and those immersed in ranch life, “Hen Eggs,” in particular, captures the constant tug between the wants and needs, work and rest. In this piece, readers can feel Jonathan’s desire to sleep in a little more, while the responsibilities of the home, specifically screaming children, leave him no choice but to begin his day. Conjuring the image of Jonathan watching Disney movies with his grandchildren, singing, and dancing seemingly carefree is refreshing and liberating. With every description of the weather, the “full-body polar fleece” clothing to protect against frigid cold, and Jonathan’s collie, Diego, chasing grazing horses instead of the opossums and foxes, Page is using his command of poetry to imprint mental snapshots of Jonathan’s story into the readers’ minds.
Throughout the compilation, Page’s use of simile, metaphor, and repetition helps illuminate the narrative. In “Our Dog Dominic,” the collie running across the lawn with the sun bouncing off its chest is described as “a journeying god riding a chariot.” Later, his continual use of the phrase “my no longer” helps audiences embrace just how therapeutic moving away from the incessant noise of city life has been for Jonathan. The poetry does not lose its flair for the dramatic in its pursuit of literary mastery. On the contrary, figurative devices help build the tension in Jonathan’s world, from cows “gurgling for air” and facing imminent death being saved by a horseback vet to the Tattler abusing his job privileges on the ranch to cause damage to Jonathan’s livestock.
Page’s panoramic and romanticized portrayal of Jonathan’s new, environmentally-conscious life strongly resembles the work of canvas landscape painter John Constable, whose “The Hay Wain” and “Stratford Mill” capture the same essence of nature as Page’s depiction of the flowering apricot trees, budding plum trees, and ponies walking in the yard. At the same time, Jonathan’s desire to explore the woods is distinctly reminiscent of Henry David Thoreau’s search for meaning through nature and transcendentalism. Undoubtedly, the author’s grasp of literary history and the craft of writing is on full display from the onset of the book. Though many of the poems are memorable, poems like “I was a Soldier” are likely to stay with the reader. The stark contrast between a former and present life, imbued with pacing that gives off a musical, rhythmic quality helps demonstrate the transformation of the individual. Overall, Page seamlessly weaves poetry and narrative to bring his world to life with vivid imagery, figurative language, and a heavy dose of authenticity.
RECOMMENDED by the US Review
Everything is One
The Body at a Loss
by Cati Porter
CavanKerry Press
67 pages
reviewed by Stephen Page
In Cati Porter’s “The Body at a Loss,” the narrator’s body not only contains her physical self, her conscience, and her consciousness, it is a metaphoric home that houses her dog, her mother, her significant other, her mother’s significant other, her children, her friend, and others in her life. The kitchen is the center of her being, her alone-time place, her thinking place, her get-it-together place, her loved ones’ feeding place, her loved ones’ caring place. As she cooks for her family, cares for her sick dog, and often sips coffee alone while contemplating existence, the house is slowly falling apart. Just when she has a moment of tranquility, a second of solace, a room on the house cave in, an eave falls off, a roof caves in. Even the kitchen itself begins to show cracks in the walls—but they hold. She sits at the table and sips her coffee during which has an epiphany.
Mx. Porter strikes the reader with her brilliant poetics and empathic scenes with this collection of multi-formed poems. The different structures of the poems represent the different sizes of rooms of her home, the different beings that it houses, the narrator’s ups and downs, and her feelings of collapse and reconstruction.
The first and the last poem take place in the kitchen, that caring place, that healing place, that safe-room. As the collection is nearing conclusion, the narrator becomes aware that her body is an analogy for how the world works, how the universe is designed. Aging, sickness, dilapidation, returning to dust, returning to star dust, is a part of life. We are mortal. We exist temporally. We have to accept that and know that while we are here we must rebuild ourselves each time we fall apart. No matter how torn down we felt yesterday, each morning, each breakfast, each new day is a fresh start.
https://cavankerrypress.org/product/the-body-at-a-loss-2/
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1933880716/ref=dbs_a_w_dp_1933880716
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/44906657-the-body-at-a-loss
