October 2018 Book Releases
WHO TOUCHES THIS, by Robert Hazel. Introduction by Wendell Berry
“Robert Hazel has written poems that stand, not only apart, but high and alone.” — Wendell Berry
“Robert Hazel has a mind that could perhaps be described as ‘rude.’ Instead of polishing the shoes of the American dream or shrieking at it, Hazel is rude to it. He dislikes the usual clean-shaven version of American history.” — Robert Bly
“There is no poet of his generation to whom more has been given.” — Allen Tate
Visit Who Touches This at Circling Rivers.
WITH WALT WHITMAN, HIMSELF, by Jean Huets (print edition)
With Walt Whitman, Himself immerses the reader in the life and times of the poet called “America’s bard,” in full color, with over 300 period images and text including extensive quotes by Walt Whitman and his family and friends (and a few enemies). Pre-order a signed copy directly from Circling Rivers. The book will become available from booksellers Oct 2.
“A beautiful book of windows onto the life of Walt Whitman. From the clear ringing prose to the fascinating photographs and colored illustrations of the great poet’s life we find the man anew — standing in his time and looking straight at us…. [Huets] has made a book of marvels and I can’t put it down.” — Steve Scafidi, recipient of Larry Levis Reading Prize, Miller Williams Prize, and Library of Virginia Literary Award for Poetry
“A true Whitmanian feast—for the intellect as well as for the eyes…. Illustrations of Whitman’s places, friends, family, disciples, contemporaries—his cities and his rural retreats. The descriptions of his life and times are concise and smart. The book keeps opening up to new facets of Whitman, his work, and his era.” — Ed Folsom, editor of Walt Whitman Quarterly Review and Whitman Series, and Co-Director of The Walt Whitman Archive
New Book on the Way
We’re very happy to announce that Circling Rivers will publish Nina Murray’s poetry collection, Alcestis in the Underworld, in Spring 2019. Nina describes the Greek myth from which the title is drawn: “Alcestis takes the place of her husband, King Admetus, in the underworld, so that he may continue to rule the living. She eventually returns to the land of the living. She and her family — presumably — live happily ever after. But Alcestis has seen and learned things no one else has known.”
I had been
and thus returned a different figure
no longer fit into what had been
so solidly framed out — but no one
raised the roofbeam….
Alcestis in the Underworld articulates Nina’s own radically foreign experience of civic duty: her life in Moscow as a U.S. diplomat, after growing up in then-USSR Ukraine. Nina is a poet, translator, and member of the U.S. diplomatic corps, and author of the chapbook, Minimize Considered (Finishing Line Press, 2018).
Circling Rivers Authors
Kenneth Pobo: Review of Loplop in a Red City: “Not only does Pobo’s work lead me to visualize new works of art… it also gives me works that are known in a new way.” In Electica And at SourlandMountainWriter, three poems by Ken. Visit Loplop at Circling Rivers.
Jean Huets: Recent publications: “Karl Ove Knausgaard’s Seasons Quartet Is a Raw Journey through the Writing Process” | The Millions // “Swallowing Mercury, by Wioletta Greg” | National Book Critics Circle Reads // “Things Fall Apart: On Ali Smith’s Autumn & Winter” | The Millions
FRIENDS OF CIRCLING RIVERS
Belmont Public Library, among others, generously hosted the RVA LitCrawl. In a group themed “Life Stories,” Jean Huets read from The Bones You Have Cast Down, her YA book set in late Medieval Italy, Ben Carlos Cleary read from his forthcoming book on Stonewall Jackson (Hachette, 2019), David Robbins read from his novel-in-progress, set in 1945-48 Israel, and Evans Hopkins read from a work-in-progress, Untitled: Train/Bus 1951, and from his memoir, Life after Life: A Story of Rage and Redemption (Simon & Schuster, 2014). Many thanks to Barbara Booth, Library and Community Services Manager at Belmont, and her staff at the library.
A shoutout to Joanna Lee for raising a big crowd of poetry readers and listeners at Cafe Zata’s open mic, in CR’s hometown of Richmond, Virginia. Check out River City Poets if you’re a poetry lover who lives in or plans to visit Richmond.
Another Richmond supporter of poetry — and other writing, including some controversial subjects — is Chop Suey Books. Their poetry selection is without question the best in town, and their mix of used and new books of every stripe makes the store a fantastic place to browse. Visit Chop Suey.
Fellow Tinker Mountain Writers Workshop alumnus Lee Daniels enjoyed publication of To the Edge and Back: Selected Poems and Travel Essays. Available at Amazon