Channeling the Duende: George Kalamaras’s “A History of Green”
George Kalamaras’s poem draws inspiration from Charles Wright’s “Yellow,” a sonnet-length catalogue replete with images of that color. But Kalamaras’s …
Author Archives: Karen Kovacik
“Song for Saint Nicholas Day” by Terry Kirts
The truth about St. Nicholas is complicated. Instead of a jolly old guy bringing presents to children, the real saint, …
“Ardors So Fierce”: Reading Jean Garrigue
“Evansville-born poetess Jean Garrigue dies at 59,” trumpets the headline from the Indiana town where the poet spent the first …
Shari Wagner’s Histories
Shari Wagner’s The Harmonist at Nightfall is a collection of poems inspired by her travels around Indiana. But this book …
A Different Shade of Pink: Bonnie Maurer’s “Hymn to a Lost Breast”
Recently, the Huffington Post has been rife with polemics for and mostly against the notion of “Pinktober,” the month dedicated …
A Wordless Harmony: Laurel Smith’s “Improvised Sabbath”
The southern Indiana town of New Harmony, once home to two utopian communities, lies along the Wabash River, not far …
Song for the End of Summer: Mary Leader’s “Schoolteacher’s Ditty”
Assembling syllabi, organizing books and supplies, and racing around campus put me in mind of Mary Leader’s “Schoolteacher’s Ditty.” Now …
Of Corn Dogs and Moon Pies: Terry Kirts’s “State Fair Suite”
Nostalgia and consumerism rub elbows at the Indiana State Fair: a man crafting a spindle-backed rocking chair and a woman …
Carpe Diem for Cicadas: “Brood X” by Anne Haines
This is not like 1987 or 2004 when the 17-year cicadas’ incessant buzz drowned out ambulance sirens, and their …
Anticipating the Arbor: Nancy Pulley’s “Grape Jelly”
Remember kettles sweating in kitchens of unholy steam? And listening for the lids to pop on all those Ball jars …
No more corn 