Helga Kidder's Luckier Than The Stars is an essential American Odyssey that takes us from her childhood memories and post war Germany to present day America, "a life spent to fit and re-fit the broken pieces." Balanced between the two poles of a lucky life and the life of stars, the earth and what transcends us, Kidder brilliantly dramatizes her struggle to always move beyond, always "want more" as she says of the woman in Klimt's The Kiss. This is an odyssey of language, too, where she learns English, yes, but more-- learns to see a world that is incredibly alive, a world where the day is...

Some people flow in and out of our lives like water - rushing through like a stream, surrounding us like a peaceful lake then maybe travelling on to the sea. Some people are more like rocks: sturdy, stable, reliable - always there. Everyone we meet informs our sensibilities of the larger world around us, not allowing us to become so absorbed that we forget ourselves in this mad-dash through life.
This collection of poems introduces the reader to people who voluntarily leave us as well as those we lose without their choice, much sooner than we would wish. The later poems embrace the people who...

Constance Rowell Mastores was born in San Francisco and grew up in Berkeley, CA. She has a BA in French and an MA in Comparative Literature from the University of California at Berkeley. After completing her MA thesis on Wallace Stevens, directed by Josephine Miles, she left for Europe to study for a year each at the University of Florence and the Sorbonne. On her return to the United States, she taught in the Comparative Literature Department at UC-Berkeley while working toward her Ph.D. Mastores is a classicist by inclination and a modernist by choice. Mastores' poems have appeared widely...

Wade's lyrical linear marks are reminiscent of some foreign text.

Being foreign the meaning is unknown, therefore, what remains is the recognition and appreciation of the mark itself. Actually, the aesthetic value of the mark is it's own meaning. Due to their linear nature the format of a book is an appropriate venue to exhibit them.

Whether viewing the book from front to back, back to front or just skipping from here to there one is sent on a magical journey where each step adds to the anticipation and wonder of what surprise is around the next bend or corner. With growing...

Living artfully, with integrity, guides my life.
I seek to express Truth in personal vision,
to communicate honestly with consideration,
committed to excellence in all endeavor.
I choose to be authentic.
-Melanie Gendron

Born in Boston, MA, Melanie attended The School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston in affiliation with Tufts University.
She has developed a unique style rich in symbolism inspired by many cultures. Proficient in a variety of media, Melanie enjoys a renaissance attitude, creating with inspiration her authentic expression of Spirit. Melanies prize winning artwork is...

Daniel J. Langton was born in Paterson, New Jersey and raised in East Harlem with his brothers and sister. He is married to Eve and they have a son, Mark. They live in San Francisco, where he teaches English and Creative Writing at San Francisco State University. His poetry has appeared in such journals as the Nation, the Paris Review, the Atlantic Monthly, the TLS, the Harvard Advocate and the Iowa Review, and has been awarded the London Prize, the Devins Award, the Edgar Allan Poe Award and others. This is his seventh collection. Daniel J. Langton was launched into a life of writing poetry...

Monty was an idea. I had to occupy my children and their friends on a stormy day in Texas. Give them the latitude to discover their imagination. From there Monty came to life. A fish that behaves like a child, doing things that we love to do. Thanks to those youngsters, my thoughts went to what out of character other animals can do. So here we are with Monty going to the Zoo. I hope you enjoy