Inevitably, there are a few clunkers, but this is a strong gathering in both its parts and its sum.
Spirited, appropriately oversized anthology of Texas-centric creative work by women from the Lone Star State.
Gathering poems, nonfiction, stories, and images, this collection explores the premise, as lead editor Walker-Nixon (Canaan's Oothoon, 2010) writes, that “women form a large part of the backbone of Texas storytelling and art, despite the fact that the existence of female mythmakers has all too often been overlooked.” That seems almost self-evident: the genres associated with Texas have been dominated by male writers, a point the thoughtful introductory essay by the late folklorist Lou Rodenberger details while arguing for greater inclusiveness. The present anthology proposes any number of women to join their ranks, with a particularly strong showing in fiction; too many of the poems are just limping prose with line breaks—though that is true everywhere. Not all the work is set directly in Texas. Some poems and stories wander to New York City, others deep into Mexico, but in the main, they partake of the state’s storied sense of independence and assertiveness. The editors strive for, and attain, a good balance of old and new and of ethnicities and ages. Though there are a couple of gaps and missing names (LaVerne Harrell Clark, Becky Patterson), some of the state’s better-known writers make appearances—e.g., Naomi Shihab Nye, Carmen Tafolla, and Sandra Cisneros. As Willie Nelson can attest—and as Kathleen Hudson’s thoughtful introductory essay to a gallery of lyrics shows—women are particularly well-represented in the ranks of Texas songwriters; the anthology includes selections from the always excellent Tish Hinojosa, as well as Amanda Pearcy, Emy Taylor, and others. Their commentary on their lyrics is a lagniappe, a bayou country term of art that the editors employ in a closing section comprising their own work.
Inevitably, there are a few clunkers, but this is a strong gathering in both its parts and its sum.Pub Date: March 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-60940-423-9
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Wings Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
An autobiography as toxic and addictive as any drug its author has ever ingested.
The legendary booze-addled metal rocker turned reality-TV star comes clean in his tell-all autobiography.
Although brought up in the bleak British factory town of Aston, John “Ozzy” Osbourne’s tragicomic rags-to-riches tale is somehow quintessentially American. It’s an epic dream/nightmare that takes him from Winson Green prison in 1966 to a presidential dinner with George W. Bush in 2004. Tracing his adult life from petty thief and slaughterhouse worker to rock star, Osbourne’s first-person slang-and-expletive-driven style comes off like he’s casually relating his story while knocking back pints at the pub. “What you read here,” he writes, “is what dribbled out of the jelly I call my brain when I asked it for my life story.” During the late 1960s his transformation from inept shoplifter to notorious Black Sabbath frontman was unlikely enough. In fact, the band got its first paying gigs by waiting outside concert venues hoping the regularly scheduled act wouldn’t show. After a few years, Osbourne and his bandmates were touring America and becoming millionaires from their riff-heavy doom music. As expected, with success came personal excess and inevitable alienation from the other members of the group. But as a solo performer, Osbourne’s predilection for guns, drink, drugs, near-death experiences, cruelty to animals and relieving himself in public soon became the stuff of legend. His most infamous exploits—biting the head off a bat and accidentally urinating on the Alamo—are addressed, but they seem tame compared to other dark moments of his checkered past: nearly killing his wife Sharon during an alcohol-induced blackout, waking up after a bender in the middle of a busy highway, burning down his backyard, etc. Osbourne is confessional to a fault, jeopardizing his demonic-rocker reputation with glib remarks about his love for Paul McCartney and Robin Williams. The most distinguishing feature of the book is the staggering chapter-by-chapter accumulation of drunken mishaps, bodily dysfunctions and drug-induced mayhem over a 40-plus-year career—a résumé of anti-social atrocities comparable to any of rock ’n’ roll’s most reckless outlaws.
An autobiography as toxic and addictive as any drug its author has ever ingested.Pub Date: Jan. 25, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-446-56989-7
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2009
IN THE NEWS
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...
Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
