The latest issue of the literary journal Blackbird is out, and includes a very thoughtful review of West Portal by editor Danielle Kotrla. Here is an excerpt, “The poems in West Portal go beyond mere cataloguing to reach toward something more active, a process akin to peeling away the outermost layer of the world to see its inner workings. This action shares its significance with what is described by the ghost of the speaker’s sister when she asks, “Do you remember those picture books / where the illustrator removes the outer wall // of a jumbo jet to show children where luggage goes.” This leaning down and peering in is what reveals just how intricate and complex the act of paying attention, and therefore, living, really is.” The whole review can be read here, and all the work in the issue is wonderful and well worth reading.
