EJ Levy author photo

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Congratulations are in order for past contributor E.J. Levy, whose newest book, The Cape Doctor, was released this summer. E.J. was kind enough to send us her own description of the book, found below.


I’m delighted to have had my debut novel, The Cape Doctor, out from Little Brown on June 15th, after nearly a decade of work. The book is inspired by the life of Dr. James Miranda Barry–born Margaret Ann Bulkley circa 1795 in Cork, Ireland–a brilliant, irascible, dandified, army surgeon who advocated for the rights of the marginalized and was the first person known to perform a successful caesarian in Africa; Barry was caught in a sodomy scandal with the aristocratic governor of Cape Town (then the Cape Colony) in 1824, and eventually rose to the level of Inspector General, only to be discovered after death to have been “a perfect female” and to have carried a pregnancy late to term.

In the 150 years since Barry died, the doctor has been celebrated as both a feminist icon (as the first female-born person to receive a medical degree in the UK, 50 years before Elizabeth Garrett Anderson would, and 35 years before Elizabeth Blackwell would earn her degree in the US) and more recently as a trans icon. Both are valid interpretations in my view. I agree with biographer Jeremy Dronfield (author of Dr. James Barry: A Woman Ahead of Her Time) who has said that he sees validity in both a feminist and a trans reading of Barry’s life, but he rejects any effort to impose one interpretation to the exclusion of the other or to present one as definitive. Mine is one reading of a richly ambiguous historical record of the fascinating and courageous life of Margaret Bulkley and James Barry. In writing the book, I was aiming for something like Virginia Woolf’s Orlando–in which the protagonist changes sex over centuries–but I think I’ve ended up with something closer to Charles Dicken’s David Copperfield.

I have changed Barry’s name to be clear that mine is a work of fiction. But it has felt at times more like a seance. I first learned of Barry on a trip to Cape Town; as we traveled around the city and into the countryside, I felt a little possessed by that spirit, as if Dr. Barry was whispering in my ear; I’m delighted that others have a chance to hear that same voice now. 

I’m gratified that Booklist has given The Cape Doctor a Starred Review, calling it “Remarkable…Absolutely superb… beautifully written…In sum, an unforgettable work of art that deserves raves.” The book was also named among Barnes & Noble’s “Best 100 Books of Summer” and was a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice.

I hope The Cape Doctor helps bring wider attention to and awareness of the remarkable life of both Margaret and James.


The Cape Doctor is published by Little Brown and available for purchase from Bookshop, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books, Google Play, and Amazon.

E.J. was interviewed by SR about her story collection Love, In Theory in Issue 16. Keep up with what else E.J. is up to on her website and Twitter.

Contributor Update, James McAdams: Somewhere in Florida, an Angel Appeared

James McAdamsToday we are happy to announce news about past contributor James McAdams. James’ story, “Somewhere in Florida, an Angel Appeared,” has been featured in Ghost Parachute. If you enjoy flash fiction, go ahead and click here to read it.

Congratulations, James!

James’ story, “Nobody’s Children,” can be read in Issue 16 of Superstition Review.

Authors Talk: Timothy Reilly

Today we are pleased to feature author Timothy Reilly as our Authors Talk series contributor. In this podcast, Timothy discusses the inspiration behind his short story, “The Task at Hand,” calling it a “nod to the old Grail romances.”

Timothy states that “‘The Task at Hand’ is not a ‘Baby Boomer’ story,” even though it concerns a protagonist from that generation. Instead, he says,  it is “an internal quest… framed within a common 21st-century excursion.” During that quest the protagonist “deals with the challenges of age and memory,” as well as “the fickleness of pop culture.”

Timothy, hearkening back to his lifelong interest in Grail legends, declares that “myths are about truth, not facts.” He ends by referencing a quote from C.S Lewis, saying that when he realized this fact and “was old enough to read fairy tales again,” he began to write short stories of his own.

You can read Timothy’s story, “The Task at Hand,” in Issue 16 of Superstition Review.

 

 

 

Contributor Update, Sue William Silverman: New Poetry Collection “If the Girl Never Learns”

If the Girl Never Learns coverToday we are proud to announce news about past contributor Sue William Silverman. Sue’s new poetry collection, If the Girl Never Learns, will be out in April, 2019 from Brick Mantel Books. Congratulations, Sue!

Death Comes for the Poet” by Sue William Silverman can be read in Issue 16 of Superstition Review.

 

Contributor Update, Laurie Filipelli: New Poetry Collection

We are happy to announce that past contributor Laurie Filipelli from Issue 16 has released her new poetry collection “Girl Paper Stone.” Laurie’s new poetry collection is now available for purchase. Congratulations Laurie!

Contributor Update
Contributor Update

Praise for GIRL PAPER STONE

In her luminous book, Laurie Filipelli remakes the constellations of a modern life. Her poems re-draw the lines between the parts of the world, helping us to see there are no divisions between planting a plumbago and watching the passage of hateful legislation, no space between grief for a lost father and the wonder of what he’s told the speaker: “the whale’s veins are so wide we could swim/ to her heart.” By looking so tenderly and incisively at the actual experience of a life, Filipelli makes us see our own differently.
—Sasha West

Flying together, flying apart: in these poems the self is as elastic as a flock of birds cutting across the winter sky. Here, among carousel and cave, where “the bigger you spin, the lighter you fall,” we are invited into the world of mothers and daughters, fathers and grandfathers, a geography whose inhabitants bear steadily forward while always casting a long look back. As our leader advances, in an outstretched hand she presents to us the artifacts of her explorations—mirrors, keys, paper dragons—reminding us all the while to accept the dangers of discovery as well as its myriad blessings. The wisdom within these pages is hard-won and generously offered, the speaker lifting her face skyward no matter the conditions at her feet. “The future is a ballad sung in your name,” Filipelli promises, and we want to—we do—believe her.
—Laurie Saurborn

With Laurie Filipelli’s Girl Paper Stone we revel in a collection of lyric recuperations that simultaneously soothe and trouble, delight and disrupt as they marvel and lament at the fragility, wonder, and hurt of our daily lives, our dream lives, and the underground life of our divinations. These poems reject the immovable and fixed and find meaning in the always transforming torrent that is our doing and un-doing. What a great pleasure to find these poems—all at once in flight, grounded, on fire, and full of heart—elemental, beautiful, and indispensable.
—Cathy Bowman
Please visit Laurie’s website at lauriefilipelli.org

Contributor Update: Elaine Ford

Elaine Ford Today, we here at Superstition Review want to take time to mourn the loss of past contributor Elaine Ford, who passed away in August 2017 at the age of 78. We will forever be grateful for Elaine’s contribution to our magazine and are honored to announce the release of her seventh book, This Time Might Be Different, which will be out from Islandport Press on March 13, 2018. The books is available for preorder from both Amazon and Islandport PressThis Time Might Be Different Book Cover

Foreclosure” by Elaine Ford can be read in Issue 16 of Superstition Review.

Contributor Update: Adrianne Kalfopoulou

Cover for A History of Too Much by Adrianne Kalfopoulou Today we are excited to announce that past contributor Adrianne Kalfopoulou has a forthcoming poetry collection titled A History of Too Much. The book is already available for pre-order from Amazon, but is set to release on April 23, 2018. A History of Too Much addresses an Athens undergoing the first ravages of political and financial crisis in the time of the Greek Euro crisis.

You can read Adrianne’s essay “The Journey Where” in Issue 16 of Superstition Review.

Congratulations, Adrianne!

Contributor Update: Adrianne Kalfopoulou

Today "Poem in Pieces"we are excited to announce that past contributor Adrianne Kalfopoulou has been recently featured in Duende, the national literary journal of Goddard College’s BFA program. Read Adrianne’s poem, “Poem in Pieces” on their website here.

To read Adrianne’s essay “The Journey Where” in Issue 16 of Superstition Review click here.

 

Contributor Update: Hannah Lee Jones

Hannah Lee JonesToday we are pleased to announce that past contributor Hannah Lee Jones has been recently featured in Ruminate Magazine. Hannah’s poems “When My Mouth First Opened” and “October” can be read in Ruminate’s Issue No. 44. Purchase a copy by clicking here.

To read three poems by Hannah Lee Jones in Issue 16 of Superstition Review click here.

 

Contributor Update: Darrin Doyle

Well howdy, readers! This afternoon, Superstition Review is glad to announce that past contributor Darrin Doyle, who was featured in the Interviews section of our 8th issue (which can be read here) and the Fiction section of our 16th issue (which can be read here), has recently released the first album from his rock/folk/karate trio Daryl & the Beans, titled Burnin’ the Eagle, which can be purchased here. The album itself is $8, and all proceeds from the sale of this record go to funding a scholarship for students in the Creative Writing program at Central Michigan University. If you’re so inclined, feel free to up the proverbial ante and pitch a few extra bucks toward this wonderful cause when you purchase the album! Do yourself, and the students of Central Michigan University, a huge favor and purchase Burnin’ the Eagle.

Buy this record!
Burnin’ The Eagle, the debut album from Daryl & the Beans, featuring past contributor Darrin Doyle.