TGAPS #1 Review – by J.S. Watts at Clockwise Cat
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Review of The Great American Poetry Show Volume 1 by J.S. Watts
Billed as a serial poetry anthology, open year-round to submissions, Volume 1 will give you a hearty meal of U.S. poetry. By my calculation there are eighty-four poets and one hundred and thirteen poems on the menu.
The potential problem with such an open and eclectic gathering of verse is often quality, but a quick browse through the ten pages of notes on the contributing poets discloses a creditable writing and publishing record across almost the entire board.
With so many juicy titbits to sample, it is difficult for this reviewer to choose which poems to highlight to provide a flavour of the diverse verse on offer. I’ve opted for a semi-random selection, but as the poems are arranged alphabetically by poet I’ve endeavoured to select some from the beginning, middle and end of the anthology so the A,B,Cs don’t get all the glory.
First there is the sharp humour of craving a baby in Susan Ahdoot’s “Mutiny in the Body”,
“Yes, the ovaries are pissed
and seeking revenge.
There’s a battle being fought
and it isn’t always pretty.”
and three lyrical poems from Sara Berkely on the joy and pain of having children,
“You are coming down the present in your short dress,
you have not done this before, alive in your first April,
but this is your stride, the rhythm of arrival,
and you carry the moment aloft,
brimming, like pale water in a silver cup.”
In “September 11 – The Missing” Frank Hertle constructs a sombre poem shaped like the twin tours from lists of the dead and a narrative of their known fate, whilst Larry Ziman proffers a prose poem, “Sci-Fi Flick”, enthusing over the delights of an inter-galactic striptease,
“Fast as summer lightning I banked our fighter right and shot into the middle of an asteroid belt and hid our craft behind a speeding stream of planetary
boulders. Just as the enemy ship zipped into our gunner’s sights, a fluffy
pale-blue brassiere landed on the surface on our cockpit window.”
With so many forms, styles and tones on offer you are unlikely to enjoy every poem in this eat-all-you-can buffet, but then again there will inevitably be little delicacies to tempt you, whatever your palette.
The Great American Poetry Show is edited by Larry Ziman, Madeline Sharples and Nicky Selditz and is published by The Muse Media at The Great American Poetry Show and TGAPS.
Author bio:
J.S.Watts lives and writes in the flatlands of East Anglia. Her poetry, short fiction and reviews are published in a variety of magazines and publications in Britain, Canada, Australia and the States including: Ascent Aspirations, Envoi, The Journal, Polluto and The Recusant. Her debut poetry collection “Cats and Other Myths” is published by Lapwing Publications. For further details see J.S. Watts.
Review of TGAPS #2 by Zvi A. Sesling – Boston Area Small Press & Poetry Scene
Review by Zvi A. Sesling
Online at Boston Area Small Press & Poetry Scene – Oct 31, 2010
This book of poetry really is a “show.” It is 8×10, hardcover
and provides 157 pages of poetry, followed by a bio of every
author. Moreover the authors are presented in alphabetical order
which is especially useful if you want to find the poem or author
again.
As for the poetry, it has some old poetic friends like A.D. Winans,
Lyn Lifshin, Alan Catlin, but for the most part I am not familiar with
the poets, though their poems are of high quality and belong in “the show”
which is baseball talk for the major leagues.
Of the many poems a number caught my eye. Let me name just three: To My Daughter on a Fine Fall Day, by Carol Carpenter, Big Daddy by Carrie Jerrell, Remembrance by David Parke about a lost love which closes: At night when I stand in the chilled desert breeze/ and feel it lightly kiss my face,/I close my eyes and feel the phantom of your lips against mine.
The anthology has a penchant for personal poems as a good many of them are first person, though Lois Swann’s short poem (8 lines) is quite enticing:
Thanksgiving
The frost has left a simple beautiful pattern
on the black car roof
Like stars clustered or marcasite
threaded with silver.
Shivering, undressed, I find such marks sparkling
on the skin of my inner thigh,
The sign of you I am loathe to bathe away,
fearing to squander diamonds
To be sure there will be poems you do not like, but in 157 pages can you really expect
every poem to grab you? No, but in The Great American Poetry Show my guess the majority (probably more than a simple majority) will be enjoyable, and since every reader is different, many readers will connect with a number of the poems and poets.
Review of TGAPS #1 by Barb Radmore – Front Street Reviews
The Great American Poetry Show is a 2005 compilation of poems that were selected from over 8,000 submissions. They include poems by experienced writers and first timers. Some had been previously published in other places but not all. The poets are teachers, nurses, students and, of course, authors, to name a few. They come from a wide cross section of America to represent all the parts of the American Poetry Show. Read more… »
Review of TGAPS #1 by Tim Bellows on Amazon
A FINE SHOW, January 19, 2006
Reviewer: T. Bellows "soul9"
This is a great read – despite the strange title (poetry is not a mere "show." It’s all that is genuine and intense in thought). But the book reveals a variety of poems – from touching, to zany to off the wall. The 8.5×11 format and hard cover make a quality setup for some energetic work. Often with a keen edge. Great fun to spot through – and savor! Highly recommended.
Review of TGAPS #1 by Adam Peltz – Literary Magazine Review
Literary Magazine Review, Vol. 23, No. 4 Winter, 2006 – by Adam Peltz
What Makes for American Poetry?
Three very American elements of the anthology The Great American Poetry Show are found in the names and notes of the poets, themselves. The variety of poets’ names (eighty-three of them) offer diversity and an index of those who are among the contemporary circuit of submissions. The contributors’ notes offer an index of resources, which include a list of journals and small presses that have printed poems, and also patches of around the country from where the poets hail. Read more… »
Review of TGAPS #1 by Richard Lauson – small press review
small press review – May-June 2005: Mind Candy by Richard Lauson -
This strikingly produced cloth-bound ‘zine proclaims itself: “a serial poetry
anthology, open year-round to submissions of poems in any subject, style and number.” A joyously creative, kaleidoscopic blend of poetry forms (a veritable bouquet), this volume delights Read more… »
Review of TGAPS #1 by Doug Holder
The Great American Poetry Show. (POBOX 69506) Edited by: Larry Ziman, Madeline Sharples and Nicky Selditz West Hollywood, Ca. 90069 $35.
“The Great American Poetry Show,” is a hard cover, coffee table book- sized annual anthology of poetry, put out by publisher Larry Ziman. I noticed many familiar names from the small press such as : M.C. Bruce, Alan Catlin, John Grey, and Lyn Lifshin included on these pages. Apart from a flashy front and back cover the anthology is a straight forward offering with a poem-a-page, a simple font, and plenty of room for the poems to breathe. Read more… »