Michael Londra

Poetry Review: Askold Melnyczuk’s “The Venus of Odesa” — A Jukebox of One-Hit Wonders

September 19, 2025
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Of special interest is Askold Melnyczuk’s treatment of objects. His imagination transforms curios into uncanny artefacts.

Book Review: Alexandria’s Sphinx — “Constantine Cavafy: A New Biography”

August 26, 2025
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Unable to place Cavafy in a holistic context, momentum is never sustained. Key points remain scattered, unintegrated.

Book Review: “A Day Like Any Other: The Life of James Schuyler” — A Hymn to Life

August 10, 2025
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As befits a prolific and distinguished poet, renowned for his visionary instincts and signature compositional technique, Nathan Kernan has produced an account of James Schuyler that is as morally serious as his subject.

Poetry Review: Words into Truth — Henri Cole’s “The Other Love”

July 8, 2025
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There are reassuring lyrics here that suggest that, no matter what terror comes along, our noble charge is to fight to the end, joyously.

Poetry Review: Ode to Sisterhood — Barbara Henning’s “Girlfriend”

June 28, 2025
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Chronicling acts of feminist sisterhood, “Girlfriend” memorializes a mutual support system that has been among the backbones of American life.

Book Review: Life in a State of Sparkle — The Writings of David Shapiro

May 23, 2025
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While David Shapiro’s criticism is audacious, his interviews are self-deprecating and offbeat, filled with surprising reveals.

Poetry Review: Eyes Like a Horse — Thomas O’Grady “Coming Ashore: New & Selected Poems”

May 10, 2025
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You could say that Thomas O’Grady’s poems have the eyes of a horse — channeling history and mythology through the contemporary lens of poetry’s eternal present.

Poetry Review: Ron Padgett’s “Pink Dust” — The Joyful Weight of Words

March 12, 2025
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Ron Padgett’s “Pink Dust” proves that W.H. Auden was wrong — the nothing of poetry contains everything required to make a good (even heroic) life happen.

Poetry Review: Songs from a Bone Window — Elizabeth T. Gray Jr.’s “After the Operation”

March 3, 2025
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For poet Elizabeth T. Gray, Jr., the neurological is also archeological.

Poetry Review: Joanna Fuhrman’s “Data Mind” — The Algorithm That Ate America

January 25, 2025
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“Data Mind” contains a spiritual blessing — it teaches us how to praise life in a universe that is so broken it is determined to erase our humanity.

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