CAROUSEL Magazine: Blog – Poetry. Fiction. Comics. Interviews. Reviews. Contemporary Art.

December 2023 Reviewer-in-Residence: Deirdre Danklin

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12, 2023
Reviewer-in-Residence
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Introducing our November 2023 Reviewer-in-Residence: Deirdre Danklin holds an MFA from Johns Hopkins University and lives in Baltimore, Maryland with her husband, son and two cats. Her flash fiction and essays have been published in Hobart, Pithead Chapel and The Jellyfish Review, among others. Her debut novella, Catastrophe, which won the 2021 Clay Reynolds Novella Prize and was nominated for a 2022 Shirley Jackson Award, was published by Texas Review Press. Danklin’s flash fiction chapbook, How

USEREVIEW 142: Name the World: Asian American Poets and the Future Tense

Joanna Acevedo analyzes the grammar of hope in five recently released poetry collections by Asian American writers. #CAROUSELreviews#USEREVIEWEDNESDAY “Where are you from? No, but where are you really from?” is a question that many people of colour are familiar with living in the United States, and it’s the pivotal question behind Monica Youn’s collection of poetry, From From, which came out in March 2023 from Graywolf Press. In this essay, I put it into conversation

USEREVIEW 141: The Limits to Any / One / Thing Not Being Queer

In this experimental review, Jérôme Melançon fucks around with poetry, which is possibly the only suitable response to Kirby’s debut hybrid-genre memoir Poetry is Queer (Palimpsest Press, 2021). ISBN: 978-1-98928-786-6 | 250 pp | $19.95 CAD | BUY Here #CAROUSELreviews#USEREVIEWEDNESDAY everything being a matter of gravity and lift everything — being — matter Kirby you look at me now through dozens of googly eyes — funny how we cover ourselves like that, with the images

USEREVIEW 140: The Unspeakable

Joelle Kidd articulates all that’s left unsaid and ineffable in Meghan Greeley‘s debut novel Jawbone (Radiant Press, 2023). ISBN: 978-1-99892-600-8 | 102 pp | $20 CAD — BUY Here #CAROUSELreviews#USEREVIEWEDNESDAY “It’s amazing how much living you can do without opening your mouth at all,” says the narrator of Meghan Greeley’s debut novel, Jawbone. The narrator, referred to as Velvet, has had her jaw wired shut. Recently, the wires were snipped. But, she finds, she still

USEREVIEW 139: Radio Waves

Jade Wallace surfs the waves of sound and sea that crash upon the shores of Renée Agatep‘s latest chapbook Ohio Radio (Wolfson Press, 2023). ISBN: 978-1-95006-615-5 | 64 pp | $15USD | BUY Here #CAROUSELreviews#USEREVIEWEDNESDAY One experiences duality listening to the radio these days. There’s something quaint about it now — maybe not old-fashioned but running a little behind the times. Its continued existence is a gesture of polite rebellion against the impersonality of streaming

USEREVIEW 138: Grasping for Magic

Jade Wallace maps the Southern Ontario Gothic geographies of Anne Baldo’s debut short fiction collection Morse Code for Romantics (The Porcupine’s Quill, 2023). ISBN: 978-0-88984-456-8 | 208 pp | $19.95 CAD — BUY Here #CAROUSELreviews#USEREVIEWEDNESDAY Lately I have sensed a revival of interest in Southern Ontario Gothic. In the past couple of years, multiple fiction debuts such as Erica McKeen’s Tear and Brooke Lockyer’s Burr have deftly employed the genre to tell contemporary stories, and

USEREVIEW 137: Beyond Good and Evil, There are Plants

Jade Wallace traces a genealogy of philosophy and flora, in John Nyman‘s latest full-length poetry collection A Devil Every Day (Palimpsest Press, 2023). ISBN 978-1-990293-46-7 | 88 pp | $19.95 CAD — BUY Here #CAROUSELreviews#USEREVIEWEDNESDAY John Nyman’s sophomore poetry collection A Devil Every Day is a book preoccupied with contemporary incarnations of evil. Several of the poems in the book read like character studies of the Devil, as for instance ‘The Genuine Devil,’ where “The

USEREVIEW 136: A Book Carrying an Impossible Weight

Jade Wallace unpacks the overflowing contents of Hollay Ghadery‘s debut poetry collection Rebellion Box (Radiant Press, 2023). ISBN: 978-1-98927-491-0 | 80 pp | $20 CAD | BUY Here #CAROUSELreviews#USEREVIEWEDNESDAY When reading a book of poetry, I always like to start with the title. Which sounds silly, because all of us probably see the title of a book before we peruse its contents, but what I mean is that I like to sit with the title,

USEREVIEW 135: Symptoms of Acute Excellence

CAROUSEL — New Patient Evaluation Referring Provider: NeWest Press Patient Name: I (Athena)Parent/Guardian: Ruth DyckFehderauDate of Birth: April 2023Weight (in pages): 352Height (in ISBN-13): 978-1-77439-068-2 Attending Physician: Emily Woodworth ASSESSMENT I (Athena) presents with symptoms of acute excellence. Patient is well-composed, making perfect use of voice, found-form composition and sentence-level beauty, with just enough suspense to exceed standard expectations of momentum for a patient of 352 pages. Examination of subcutaneous layers reveals use of unreliable

USEREVIEW 134 (Capsule): Jerry Lewis Told Me I Was Going to Die

Matthew Del PapaJerry Lewis Told Me I Was Going to Die (Latitude 46 Press, 2023)ISBN 978-1-98898-962-4 | 200 pp | $22.95 CAD | BUY Here #CAROUSELreviews#USEREVIEWEDNESDAY Matthew Del Papa’s debut essay collection from Latitude 46 Press, Jerry Lewis Told Me I Was Going To Die, is filled with dark humour and needed perspective on living with disability. This collection builds momentum through brief pieces that deal with life and disability, covering Del Papa’s experience with

USEREVIEW 133 (Capsule): Hold Your Tongue

Matthew TétreaultHold Your Tongue (NeWest Press, 2023)ISBN 978-1-77439-071-9 | 270 pp | $22.95 CAD/ $17.95 USD | BUY Here #CAROUSELreviews#USEREVIEWEDNESDAY Matthew Tétreault’s Hold Your Tongue is a transporting novel. Deftly woven threads span decades within a single family, inviting readers to confront themes of generational trauma, language and culture. Told from the perspective of Richard — a young man caught between rural life in southeastern Manitoba and the prospect of opportunity in Winnipeg — Tétreault

September 2023 Reviewer-in-Residence: Emily Woodworth

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09, 2023
Reviewer-in-Residence
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Introducing our September 2023 Reviewer-in-Residence: Emily Woodworth is a writer, filmmaker and proud descendant of the Karuk Tribe. She grew up in rural Oregon, where she developed a love for nature and the psychological pathologies that permeate small towns. Her work has appeared in EcoTheo Review, Los Suelos, Joyland, No Contact and more. Emily graduated with her MFA from CalArts, and has held fellowships from Oregon Literary Arts and the Virginia G. Piper Center for

USEREVIEW 132: Impossible Longings

In this special edition of USEREVIEW, section editor Jade Wallace reviews three seemingly very different books: a novel, a graphic novel and a collection of poetry. What unites all three is an impossible longing to return: to a time, to a place, to a self that is forever lost. #CAROUSELreviews#USEREVIEWEDNESDAY Brooke LockyerBurr (Nightwood Editions, 2023)ISBN: 978-0-88971-442-7 | 288 pp | $22.95 CAD | BUY Here It is easy to draw comparisons between Brooke Lockyer’s Burr

USEREVIEW 131: Rematriation: Decolonial Witches Fight the Patriarchy

Shantell Powell unveils the secrets (and only a few minor spoilers) of Cherie Dimaline’s latest novel VenCo (Random House Canada, 2023) in this traditional review. Content notes: death of a parent, lynching, domestic abuse, homophobia, misogyny, sexual assault and dead-naming. The reviewer wishes to thank NetGalley, for an Advance Reading Copy in exchange for an honest review. ISBN 978-0-73527-721-2 | 400 pages | $35.00 CAD — BUY Here #CAROUSELreviews#USEREVIEWEDNESDAY Cherie Dimaline is the award-winning writer

USEREVIEW 130 (Capsule): Moon Boots

Lorenz PeterMoon Boots: The Chronicles of a Country Crooner (Conundrum Press, 2023)ISBN: 978-1-77262-081-8 | 120 pages | $17.00 CAD | BUY Here #CAROUSELreviews#USEREVIEWEDNESDAY Lorenz Peter is a writer, illustrator and musician. Moon Boots is his fifth graphic novel and is semi-autobiographical. It depicts the adventures of Lester LaFleur, a free-spirited musician of no fixed address. Lester looks a bit like a country-western Edgar Allan Poe, and he hitchhikes his way across Canada, living rough. It’s

USEREVIEW 129 (Capsule): Everything You Dream Is Real

Lisa de NikolitsEverything You Dream is Real (Inanna Publications, 2022)ISBN: 978-1-77133-930-8 | 336 pages | $22.95 CAD | BUY Here #CAROUSELreviews#USEREVIEWEDNESDAY Lisa de Nikolits is the multiple IPPY-award winning author of eleven novels. She is also a member of Crime Writers of Canada, and her most recent novel is a crime story unlike any I’ve ever read. Everything You Dream is Real features mass murderers literally serving time via time travel. The book is a

August 2023 Reviewer-in-Residence: Shantell Powell

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07, 2023
Reviewer-in-Residence
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Introducing our August 2023 Reviewer-in-Residence: Shantell (Shan) Powell is a two-spirit author, artist and swamp hag who grew up in an apocalyptic cult while living off the land. Powell is the Vancouver Manuscript Intensive Fellow for 2023, a fellow for the Roots Wounds Words Winter Retreat in 2023 and a recent graduate of the Writers’ Studio at Simon Fraser University and the LET(s) Lead Academy at Yale University. She has a BA in Classics, English Drama

USEREVIEW 128: Doomscroll Poetics

John Nyman"> John Nyman
07, 2023
Book Review
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John Nyman parts the clouds and parses the pareidolia in this traditional review of ryan fitzpatrick’s latest poetry collection Sunny Ways (Invisible Publishing, 2023). ISBN: 978-1-77843-018-3 |104 pp | $21.95 CAD / $16.95 USD | BUY Here #CAROUSELreviews#USEREVIEWEDNESDAY ‘Field Guide,’ the long poem that makes up the majority of ryan fitzpatrick’s most recent collection, Sunny Ways, begins: If I promised you a guideto life in the twenty-first centuryI’m sorry I failed you And, oh boy,

USEREVIEW 127 (Capsule): Soldiers, Hunters, Not Cowboys

John Nyman"> John Nyman
07, 2023
Book Review, Capsule Review
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Aaron TuckerSoldiers, Hunters, Not Cowboys (Coach House Books, 2023)ISBN: 978-1-55245-462-6 | 160 pp | $23.95 CAD / $18.95 USD | BUY Here #CAROUSELreviews#USEREVIEWEDNESDAY Published this spring by Coach House Books, Aaron Tucker’s Soldiers, Hunters, Not Cowboys is a novel divided in two. The book’s first half, formatted as a dialogue between an unnamed male protagonist and his ex-girlfriend Melanie, presents an extended synopsis and commentary on the 1956 John Wayne western The Searchers — both

USEREVIEW 126 (Capsule): Discipline n.v.

John Nyman"> John Nyman
07, 2023
Book Review, Capsule Review
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Concetta PrincipeDiscipline n.v. (Palimpsest Press, 2023)ISBN: 978-1-99029-349-8 | 216 pp | $19.95 CAD / $18.95 USD | BUY Here #CAROUSELreviews#USEREVIEWEDNESDAY Recounting Concetta Principe’s struggle to complete her PhD in interdisciplinary humanities as a middle-aged woman, Discipline n.v. is a lyric memoir whose page-or-less-long sections often resemble prose poetry. At its most essayistic, the book explores the disreputable origins of modern social science and humanities disciplines alongside their development by postmodern theorists (Derrida, Lacan, Blanchot, etc.)