I’m a little behind, but I wanted to finally link to Ruminate‘s review of Plum Tree, written by Hannah VanderHart, a second-year graduate fellow at The Lannan Center for Poetics and Social Practice in Washington, DC (Georgetown University). The Lannan Center, as many of you know, is one of the most profoundly important institutions in the poetry world. I often use clips from their reading series in class (nearly every semester I end up showing Octavio Paz reading “I Speak of the City”). So I was deeply gratified by Hannah’s reflections. She is also a poet, whose work can be found in many journals including the current issue of Rock & Sling.

Happy reading.

Secondly, I wanted to thank Holly Jennings for her wonderful thoughts on Plum Tree as well. Holly’s writing–from which I’ve often taught excerpts in my classes–is sharp, poignant, humble, and hilarious. I was so gratified to run into her at Calvin’s Festival of Faith and Writing this past weekend (which I’ll write about soon). Holly’s reflections on the book are meaningful to me on several levels, not the least of which is because she and I were undergraduates together and so we shared a formative literary experience at Roberts Wesleyan.

Here are her thoughts. Do yourself a favor and make Holly Goes Lightly a regular read.

Enjoy the reviews, and please join the conversation on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Goodreads, my blog, or your own blog. Thanks!