im so humbled (and kind of in love) with this review of lookinside from a judge of the 22nd annual writer’s digest self-published book awards:
“Lookinside is a beautifully designed book, one that literally helps guide the reader in the process of reading. This seems appropriate for the type of poetry we find here. When you can hear the poem read, the reading helps to guide the flow of the words, the way to navigate the page. This design seems like the best way to replicate that on the page. The striking black and white coloration of the slick oversized pages really are fantastic. The poems themselves are a jittery and jivy contraption, full of life and energy with a solid verve. Though there aren’t many images throughout, no grounding and nothing really like narrative, we make up for that with line after line that can serve as inspiration or anthem, mantra for a whole generation of people in need of inspiration for the creative core of their own lives. I think I like best – and this is a structural thing, the way that the book is punctuated with pages that are just a line or two. It always seems like a reflection on what has happened or what will happen, an extra burst of wisdom or charity.”
“the human experience is ultimately a triumph of the spirit”
c h a n i
