Criticism: "Knife," "Gorgeous Freak," and "The Porpoise in the Pink Alcove"

Last year I decided to try my hand at writing book reviews again, something more substantial than the snapshot entries I was posting on my GoodReads account. And so I pitched a trio of titles to Alan Catlin, the editor over at Misfit Magazine, who ended up greenlighting all three. The first book was Salman Rushdie's Knife, a short memoir recounting the knife stabbing the polarizing author survived and the physical and mental recovery which followed. I had mixed feelings about this one since it refuses to satisfy the twisted voyeurism ultimately responsible for its very existence. I got more pleasure from the two subsequent poetry books: Julie Poole's quirky Gorgeous Freak and the late Kathi Wolfe's sweet and final collection The Porpoise in the Pink Alcove. I've known both authors personally for years, although neither of them intimately. And so, I truly enjoyed getting an opportunity to celebrate their work which exists well outside the monolithic commercial and academic presses. Click on any of the linked titles above to read my personal assessments.