Able Muse Anthology (best of the poetry, fiction, short stories, creative nonfiction, essays, interviews, book reviews, poetry translation, art &

About the Book

The Able Muse Anthology celebrates Able Muse's journey through its first decade and beyond, by showcasing the best of the published poetry, fiction, essays, interviews, book reviews, art and photography.

Book Synopsis

The Able Muse Anthology -- from the new Able Muse Press -- celebrates Able Muse's journey through its first decade and beyond, by showcasing the best of the published poetry, fiction, essays, interviews, book reviews, art and photography, including a foreword by Timothy Steele. This anthology has received high praise and acclaim from Dana Gioia, David Mason, Charles Martin, Catharine Savage-Brosman, X.J. Kennedy, Catharine Savage Brosman and others.

PRAISE FOR THE ABLE MUSE ANTHOLOGY:

. . . This book fills an important gap in understanding what is really happening in early twenty first century American poetry. - Dana Gioia.

. . . You hold in your hands a remarkable anthology of poems, translations, an interview, essays, short stories and visual art. - David Mason.

. . . This extraordinarily rich collection of fiction, poetry, essays and art by so many gifted enablers of the Muse is both a present satisfaction and a promise of future performance. - Charles Martin.

. . . Neither unskilled, lethargic, nor distracted from their proper enterprise, the muses in the past decade have been singularly able, as this outstanding anthology of work from The Able Muse demonstrates. - Catharine Savage-Brosman.

. . . Here's a generous serving of the cream of Able Muse, including not only formal verse but nonmetrical work that also displays careful craft, memorable fiction (seven remarkable stories), striking artwork and photography, and incisive critical prose. - X.J. Kennedy.

CONTENTS:

FOREWORD by Timothy Steele.

INTRODUCTION by Alexander Pepple.

FICTION -- Kristen Edwards, Thaisa Frank, Delaney Lundberg, Marge Lurie, Molly Malone, Dennis Must, Nina Schuyler.

ESSAYS & BOOK REVIEWS -- Suzanne J. Doyle (on Turner Cassity), Daniel L. Corrie, Leslie Monsour (on Richard Wilbur).

INTERVIEWS -- Kevin Durkin (with Timothy Steele).

POETRY TRANSLATION -- Charles Baudelaire translated by Jennifer Reeser, translations from the Persian by Dick Davis, Hafiz translated by Jeffrey Einboden and John Slater, Louise Labé translated by Annie Finch, Petrarch translated by A.M. Juster, Giovanni Pascoli translated by Geoffrey Brock.

POETRY -- Brian Culhane, Shekhar Aiyar, Rhina P. Espaillat, Geoffrey Brock, Kate Benedict, Turner Cassity, Cally Conan-Davies, Catherine Chandler, Maryann Corbett, Kevin Durkin, John Beaton, Stephen Edgar, Annie Finch, Jeff Holt, R.S. Gwynn, Rachel Hadas, Dolores Hayden, Beth Houston, Mark Jarman, Julie Kane, Julie Carter, Rose Kelleher, Robin Kemp, X.J. Kennedy, Len Krisak, Lyn Lifshin, April Lindner, Thomas David Lisk, Dennis Loney, Amit Majmudar, Ted McCarthy, Mebane Robertson, Richard Moore, Esther Greenleaf Mürer, Timothy Murphy, Estill Pollock, Aaron Poochigian, Jay Prefontaine, Chelsea Rathburn, Leslie Monsour, A.E. Stallings, Timothy Steele, Richard Wakefield, David Stephenson, Alan Sullivan, Marilyn L. Taylor, Diane Thiel, Deborah Warren, Geraldine Connolly, Robert West, Gail White, Bob Watts, Kim Bridgford, William Conelly.

ART & PHOTOGRAPHY -- Üzeyir Lokman Çayci, Andrew Dolphin, Misha Gordin, Terri Graham, Solitaire Miles, Billy Monday, Royena Rasnat, Linda Spencer, Kamil Varga, Christopher Woods.

Review Quotes

"Over the last twelve years Able Muse and its extraordinary companion website the Eratosphere have created a huge and influential virtual literary community. There is no better example of the New Bohemia of electronic culture. Poets, translators, critics, teachers, and readers gather in this vast, smokey virtual all-night cafe, sharing work, debating issues, providing advice and instruction. The clientele of the Eratosphere range from major poets to rank amateurs, all conversing as equals. There is no question that this invisible institution has become central to countless poets and critics, especially those interested in form and narrative, who find here an informed and engaged community impossible to surpass in the bricks and mortar world. Able Muse has now gathered the best of their works in both prose and verse in an ink-and-paper anthology. This book fills an important gap in understanding what is really happening in early twenty-first century American poetry."-Dana Gioia

"This extraordinarily rich collection of fiction, poetry, essays and art by so many gifted enablers of the Muse is both a present satisfaction and a promise of future performance. May this now decade-old enterprise continue to flourish!"-Charles Martin

"Neither unskilled, lethargic, nor distracted from their proper enterprise, the muses in the past decade have been singularly able, as this outstanding anthology of work from The Able Muse demonstrates. The poems, including fine work by R.S. Gwynn, Mark Jarman, X.J. Kennedy, Leslie Monsour, Timothy Steele, Alan Sullivan, Diane Thiel, Deborah Warren, and a score of other skilled poets, almost define what good American poetry is and should be, whether in traditional rhymed forms, which dominate here, or freer ones. Marvelous wit appears throughout. Translations from three languages, an interview with Steele, and good essays on rhyme, Richard Wilbur, and Turner Cassity provide reinforcement for the high poetic values on display "-Catharine Savage-Brosman

"You hold in your hands a remarkable anthology of poems, translations, an interview, essays, short stories and visual art. These represent the best of The Able Muse an on-line magazine now defying current trends by moving into print. To have this work published between covers is to meet not only such well-known writers as X.J. Kennedy, Rachel Hadas, R.S. Gwynn and A.E. Stallings, but also to form an acquaintance with a much larger community, including writers who will be new to you but who share both devotion and accomplishment. Welcome to the dexterous makers of The Able Muse."-David Mason

"Much so-called poetry you can read on the web merits an epithet coined by John Updike-"road kill on the information highway." But Able Muse for more than a decade has been a reliable source of the real thing. Two dozen of my favorite metrical poets illuminate this splendid anthology, besides others I'm grateful to meet. Here's a generous serving of the cream of Able Muse, including not only formal verse but nonmetrical work that also displays careful craft, memorable fiction (seven remarkable stories), striking artwork and photography, and incisive critical prose (don't miss Susanne J. Doyle's funny, heart-warming memoir of Turner Cassity). As this enjoyable selection proves, editor Alex Pepple has enlisted more than his share of the best art and writing America has generated lately."-X.J. Kennedy