Kasdorf, Julia Spicher, and Michael Tyrell, eds. Broken Land: Poems of Brooklyn. New York: 2007.
Kasdorf is one of my favorite poets/literary critics, and a friend, and this is the only one of her books that I had not had. Used copies are now available for a reasonable price from amazon.com’s network of independent sellers (which is where I also acquired Rotella’s book). When I received it in the mail I discovered that it is inscribed by Tyrell (I have a fair number of books with inscriptions that I acquired used, and they always make me sad even though I am excited to have the author’s autograph. Why did the person mentioned in the inscription get rid of the book? Did they forget it was inscribed? Did they die? Did they have to cull their library due to financial hardship? None of the possibilities are good.), so I will have to get it inscribed by Kasdorf at some point to complete the set!
Rotella, Alexis. Beards and Wings. Cairnbrook: White Peony, 1985.
I recently read some of Rotella’s haiku in an anthology and really enjoyed them, and thus decided to buy one of her collections. Many of them are out of print, as is this one, but I was able to find a used copy for a little over $2.00.
Vega, Marta Moreno, Marinieves Alba, and Yvette Modestin, eds. Women Warriors of the Afro-Latina Diaspora. Houston: Arte Publico, 2012.
I was given this collection of essays and poetry by a friend. It looks fascinating, and there are several essays about the Puerto Rican experience that I am especially excited to read.
Daniel Shank Cruz 