Harare Review of Books

124 pages. Published May 21, 2024 by Madville Publishing. Poetry anthology.

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This is a wonderful and very accessible collection of prose poetry. For those who may feel intimidated by poetry (like I usually am), Gerry LaFemina rightly says that prose poetry provides a way to enjoy poetry without worrying about things like metre and working out how “good” a poem is. These pieces read like short fiction or mini essays, and can be judged on their own merit. In LaFemina’s words, prose poems are something like fantastic creatures that are “part one thing, part another”—like “the chimera, the shphinx, the centaur, mermaids, satyrs” and so on. The prose poem’s “possibilities and permutations are limitless.”

All of which to say, reading this was lovely; I was able to read these poems just for the pleasure of reading—and they were a pleasure, and the themes and ideas so varied. This is a collection for your shelf because you’ll want to dip in occasionally, or re-read it from time to time.

Many thanks to Madville Publishing and to Edelweiss for DRC access.

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