Contributor Update, Jacob M. Appel: Amazing Things Are Happening Here

Today we are happy to announce the news of past contributor Jacob M. Appel! Jacob’s newest selection of short stories, Amazing Things are Happening Here is to be published by Black Lawrence Press this April, 2019. In total of eight stories, Jacob continues to explore themes of truth, specifically how humans tend to bend it. As a physician, attorney, teacher and bioethicist, Jacob brings a unique perspective to fiction laced with humor and obvious knowledge of what it means to live a human life.

More information about the collection can be found here, Jacob’s fiction piece for S[r] Issue 11 can be found here.

Congratulations Jacob!

Contributor Update, Sarah Wetzel: The Davids inside David

Today we are happy to announce the news of past contributor Sarah Wetzel! Sarah’s newest poetry collection, titled The Davids inside David, was published on March 15th by Terrapin Books. According to Marcela Sulak, another past contributor, “This is a memoir of a woman who moves through art as through the world, who moves through the world as through an ever changeful museum of art.” Sarah will be attending and conducting a few events, leading up to the official book launch on May 29th.

More information about the poetry collection can be found here, more of Sarah’s poetry can be found in S[r]’s Issue 11 and Issue 14.

Congratulations Sarah!

Contributor Update, Martin Ott: Poetry Book Release

Congratulations to past contributor Martin Ott on the release of his third poetry collection “Lessons in Camouflage” scheduled for immediate release on June 1 at C&R Press: https://www.crpress.org/shop/camouflage/. Martin Ott’s short story “The Policy” was featured in Issue 11 of Superstition Review. We are truly happy for this past contributor!
Contributor Update

Contributor Update: Rochelle Hurt

Rochelle HurtToday we are pleased to share news about past contributor Rochelle Hurt. Rochelle’s essay “An Entrance, an Exit, an Entrance” has been included in The Orison Anthology, vol. 2. The anthology is available for purchase from Orison Books’ website.

Four poems by Rochelle Hurt can be read in Issue 11 of Superstition Review.

Congratulations, Rochelle!

SR Pod/Vod Series: Poet Catherine Bailey

Each Tuesday we feature audio or video of an SR Contributor reading their work. Today we’re proud to feature a podcast by Catherine Bailey.

Catherine BaileyCatherine E. Bailey is a Ph.D. candidate in English at Western Michigan University. Her creative writing has appeared or is forthcoming in Pomona Valley Review, Line Zero, Femspec, Broad!, Rose Red Review, Scythe, Lingerpost, Poetry South, Bricolage, and other publications. She has also published academic writing on queer female superheroes in Colloquy: Text Theory Critique and various articles and reviews in Yes! Magazine, Afterimage: The Journal of Media Arts and Cultural Criticism, Worldchanging, and Three Percent. A play she wrote, based on interviews with over 50 women, was produced at the University of Rochester’s Festival of One-Acts in 2011.

You can listen to the podcast on our iTunes Channel.

You can read along with the work in Superstition Review.

s[r] Goodreads #FridayReads

Last week, April Hanks, a member of s[r]’s advertising staff, submitted a review to our goodreads.com page.

The ConditionThe Condition by Jennifer Haigh

Jennifer Haigh frequently delves into the complexities of family life by placing her characters in difficult situations. The Condition is no exception. This nonlinear novel begins with a young family, the McKotches, on vacation. Fast forward 21 years and the family has been torn apart by illness, divorce, and secrets. With seamless transitions between past and present, The Condition is the story of this family and how they got to their present state.

The diagnosis of daughter Gwen with Turner syndrome is the catalyst for the family’s dissolution. Haigh writes about this condition, as well as other biological facts, with ease and effectively incorporates them into the novel without seeming weighty. However, Haigh’s novel defies norms because it is not centered around Gwen’s illness. The novel is more interested in how the family interacts with one another and deals with the circumstances they are in.

Family dynamics lie at the heart of this novel. Although the characters all live separate, distant lives, they are connected by their family bond. To some extent, each character is trying to escape their past while simultaneously being pulled back to it. The Condition gives a realistic portrayal of a family whose children have already left home and the struggles involved in keeping that family together. Each chapter is narrated by a different member of the McKotch family and these narrations are woven together with interactions between the characters.

Like most of Haigh’s work, not everything is resolved by the end of the novel. Each member of the family continues to remember their history differently based on their perceptions and misconceptions. But this is only appropriate for a novel that reflects real familial interactions. Jennifer Haigh understands the discrete complexities of familial relationships and has crafted a novel that will leave you thinking about your own family.

An interview with Jennifer Haigh appeared in s[r] Issue 11.

Available on goodreads this week, a review by our content coordinator Bianca Peterson.

Bigger Than LifeBigger Than Life: A Murder, A Memoir by Dinah Lenney

Dinah Lenney’s Bigger Than Life: A Murder, A Memoir is both cleverly written and moving as she reflects on her father’s murder, the aftermath, and the complex relationships between the two father figures in her life—her biological father and her stepfather. Lenney uses a mix of present and past tense to both reflect on the events and take her audience back in time to the moments they occur, allowing readers to experience the events alongside her. The technique creates an emotional connection between Lenney and her audience as instead of merely baring witness to her past feelings of pain and loss.

She begins with a prologue with the subtext “Eliza Wants to Know,” detailing the curiosity of her oldest child and her own anxiety of finally telling her children the truth about their grandfather’s death. From here, the pieces slowly fall into place as Lenney begins to drop details concerning the murder before bringing the audience back in time to the day she first received the phone call from her half-brother.

What ultimately makes Lenney’s book so compelling is that it is a story not only about loss, but also the aftermath of loss and the path to healing. Lenney’s story doesn’t come to a close after the full details of her father’s death are revealed, but years later when she finally begins to heal from the ordeal. Furthermore, the novel comes full circle as she returns to the dilemma introduced in the first chapter: telling her children the truth about their grandfather’s death. Moving and highly compelling, Lenney’s strength transfers to the reader as they make the journey with her.

Dinah Lenney’s piece Object Parade: Coffee Table appeared in s[r] Issue 5.

SR Pod/Vod Series: Poet Rochelle Hurt

Each Tuesday we feature audio or video of an SR Contributor reading their work. Today we’re proud to feature a podcast by Rochelle Hurt.

Rochelle HurtRochelle Hurt is the author of The Rusted City, forthcoming in the Marie Alexander Poetry Series from White Pine Press (2014). She is the recipient of awards from Crab Orchard Review, Arts & Letters, Hunger Mountain, and Poetry International. More of her work can be found in recent issues of KROnline, RHINO, The Collagist, and The Southeast Review.

You can listen to the podcast on our iTunes Channel.

You can read along with the work in Superstition Review.