Richard Stern writes, "Eleanor Lerman's 1970s books, Armed Love and Come the Sweet By and By, contained some of the most powerful, beautiful, and original poems ever written by an American poet...Then...twenty plus years of silence. Now, amazingly, Eleanor Lerman is back, a different poet, quieter, older, 'wiser,' more earthly yet still brilliant." That pretty much sums up Lerman's work today. I don't know what happened to the Eleanor of the Armed Love fame, the Eleanor of Come the Sweet By and By, but I have a sneaking suspicion that that wild, untamed heart is still ever present, seething within her work. Quiet and reflective she may have become, with an experienced voice, unsubdued even after all these years, her writing prowess has been unleashed and the world need only to watch it unfold one beautiful word at a time. ~Tryst Editor

Sometimes, I get tired of all the deep, intellectual, academic, even the political stuff I read - it can weigh heavily upon a day: "Dude, it's not that serious." Pick up a lighthearted, but well-crafted book of poetry and life begins to start looking up. On the flip side of the grill, Allen Itz gives us raw, smoky, Texas humor that invites us to remember Sunday barbecues, hamburgers, apple pies and down-home, downright good riff to beat the band. Throw in some fabulously talented artwork and music and you have Seven Beats a Second. This book is sound proof that poets can have fun and be witty at once - sometimes raunchy, sometimes serious, but never without a good sense of timing. Peppered with some wicked hooks a little tabasco, this book is hot. ~Tryst Editor

Francine Marie Tolf in "A View from the Loft" teaches, "Some students think poetry is a kind of code, and that she who writes the toughest-to-crack code wins. I tell them it's easy to write a poem that no one understands, but hard to write one that breaks hearts." The book that broke my heart was Lightning and Ashes. Asked to review this book, I found it an almost impossible task. It's not easy to write about heartbreak where we feel silence somehow dignifies it. But at the very least, I must say a few words about the powerful writing in this book; it is not belabored with metaphors, or vying for the next clever phrasing; the narration flows naturally and succinctly, the words hit like lightning. Lightning and Ashes is a beautifully haunting, unpretentious and a loving tribute to the author's parents. I do not say this often or lightly, you must read this book. A full book review is pending. ~Tryst Editor

Never Let Me Go is a disturbing story that forecasts the inevitable cloning of humans for the purpose of harvesting their organs. Time Magazine listed it in their "All-Time 100 Novels." I'll grant it is an excellent book but I don't know that it I would go so far as to hail it as one of the "All-Time-must-read 100 novels," implying that this book is worthy of such distinction as a major work. It's maybe too sparsely written making it feel controlled in the tight reins of an author who more often than not is too present; and, the narration is a little dull in places making it unbelievable. It's unbelievable in ways I can't really expound upon here due to space limitations; mostly, the narrative tone of the major character, a young woman, is unconvincing - cold and detached on one hand and emotionally overwrought in other places makes her character inconsistent in tone and actions. Some balanced reviews can be found at "Complete Review." ~Tryst Editor

Fall on Your Knees, written in 1997 made Oprah's Book Club. The debut book won numerous book awards, sold over 300,000 copies worldwide, made MacDonald financially secure and established her as a "celebrity." But these aren't the reasons why I read the book (I wasn't even aware of any of these things when I read the book in 2002). Fall on Your Knees was recommended to me by a friend and I started reading it one night and two nights later I finished it - I couldn't put the book down. MacDonald's eye for details is astounding, her story telling is lush and every bit as good as a young Carson McCullers; and if there is one thing MacDonald is absolutely brilliant at doing, it's being able to create tension - massive amounts of it. However, as good as a debut book can be, the ending was the least satisfactory: Wrapping up too quickly as if to put the story out of its misery - probably one of the worst mistakes a writer can make when they've either run out of patience or out of ideas, and they just tie it up all too neatly. It's almost as bad as "...And they lived happily ever after." Otherwise, the book is a classic, a stunning debut. ~Tryst Editor