NEW HOPE INTERNATIONAL REVIEW

An independent small press poetry review

NHI independent review
Bogg
422 N. Cleveland St
Arlington
VA 22201
USA
ISSN 0882-648X
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This page last updated: 14th December 2007. 		Bogg ##73/74 [dble-iss]

These are two entire magazines crammed with poetry and short prose. Mostly American (over a hundred writers in an A5-ish format); there is also a smattering of Canadian, Australian, South African and U.K writers. Haiku, two-liners, even one-line quips jostle next to complete page poems, short fiction and reviews. It's like walking into a crowded pub where each drinker is a writer and, sure enough, in WEST 14th STREET by Richard M.West, (in two-line stanzas throughout), we learn

		Other literary types surfaced

	there too, but I was the only wannabe novelist
	of the group, & Murph was always ready to discuss

	some knotty aspect of my "Work in Progress".
	When the saloon finally closed I wobbled home,
Even with the American slant, John Grey from Rhode Island has THE PIGEONS of TRAFALGAR SQUARE, with
	The square's graffitied by ten million droppings.
	Not one of them is a nightingale's.
And Robert Cooperman of Denver surprisingly has KEATS TAKES LODGINGS AT DEAN STREET, THE BOROUGH, SEPTEMBER 1816, with:
	I've passed the apothecary examination,
	and thus doomed myself
	to a life sentence of potions and powders.
In much of this new writing, enjambment can be over-indulged in, like a misleading gadget and many of the pieces here have line-breaks which can be totally inexplicable. One example from many is THE VIEW FROM THE TERRARIUM by Carol Hamilton
		The electric company
	men come with their lines and saws
	and loppers, explain to me again,
	do their best to be artful. The cost,
	given the years, has hit the thousands,
	and still the tree needs to be removed.
	It ages, not gracefully. Looking up
	From the hammock, I hear limbs groan,
Most of the writing in this issue dealing with current and personal themes can be summed up by TORNADO by Gloria Mindock, which comments
	This is a mysterious feeling — opening
	my memories, and my life suddenly being overheard
	by everyone.
In this amazing bran-tub of a magazine the future shape of poetry is being teased out, stretched as far as typography or grammar can manage. At times it does not quite come off, but when it succeeds you are witnessing invention, innovation and the edging into new areas. Difficult to do in old shapes — even Jesus himself advised against pouring new wine into old bottles. This new poetry has be shoe-horned into new shapes, hence the difficulties at times.

In the second part, the layout is in a more relaxed square format and there is more space round the writing. There's a witty puzzle of American authors with crossword-like clues, by Mark Pawlak. There's a long account by Katrina Holden Bronsen of her growing up into writing, managing to portray an entire life in five pages. Outstanding is COBLENTZ'S FARM by Martin Galvin, from the painting by Walt Bartman. It is seldom that a poem can reach the same quality as a patch of pure colour, but this is achieved here, with

	While you're at the painting chore, you might
	As well blue-wash the roofs of the buildings too,
	As soft reminders of the sky that's home
	To travelling clouds. The cows will tell you how
	To measure the hours before each night.
	The deepening blue will tell you of the years.
Line breaks absolutely perfect too, you will notice of course. If you buy Bogg ##73/74 , spend a weekend on them instead of reading the Sunday papers. You'll be far happier.

reviewer: Pat Jourdan.