Canoga Park, CA —  In the world of literary criticism, we usually analyze. We dissect metaphors, debate historical contexts, and write essays. But Martin Bidney, a poet and scholar, decided that a prose analysis wasn't enough to capture the "mercurial and intense" spirit of William Shakespeare’s 1609 sonnet sequence. Instead, he chose a more intimate path: the lyric response. In his ambitious work, Shakespair: Sonnet Replies to the 154 Sonnets of William Shakespeare , Bidney

Canoga Park, CA —   In the quiet, often daunting moments of a "blank page" life—those times when we are unsure of how to move forward or what to say next—inspiration can come from the most unlikely of places. For author Vincent J. Tomeo , that inspiration arrived in the form of a dancing hippopotamus. The journey of Tomeo’s latest work, The Usefulness of Hippopotamus: A Humorous Chapbook for Trying Times , began with a wandering mind. Faced with the pressure of a blank piece

Canoga Park, CA —  Loss is a universal experience, yet it feels profoundly isolating when it strikes. Whether it is a spouse of four decades or a beloved grandparent, the void left behind can feel impossible to fill. Author Kay E. Thomson addresses this heartache head-on in two companion works that offer a roadmap through the "tunnel of grief" for both adults and children. Through her deeply personal narrative and her compassionate guidance for little ones, Thomson illustrate