Reading Berryman to the Dog is a fine first book by an accomplished writer. You'll go back and back to these startling, satisfying poems. Carlisle's is one of the truly original voices in contemporary poetry. The poems are sensuous, muscular, textured. You won't soon forget "The Redhead Conjures Him Up" or "Questions for Joe": "In March you were there,.../wearing a broad expanse of belly, by June/you were gone...." If you're tired of tired poems, this book will revive you.

I met Wendy at a poets' workshop in Arkansas back in June 1996: her turf, not mine. Imagine me, a New York Jew whose marriage was headed toward the shoals forming an alliance with another middle-aged writer, in the middle of Wal-Mart country. She's just about the only person I kept up with from that week in northern Arkansas, and over the years we've exchanged writing and confidences. And now there's this book...and nothing prepared me for the power in it. All the "reviewer words" apply: serene, savage, beautiful. I read the title poem to my Significant Other the night the book arrived and when I was done I had unexpected and unwanted tears in my eyes. You don't read work this fine every day...which is why Wendy's writing stands out as clearly as Wendy herself.

Another voice from the tough and moving tribe of modern woman poets. (see Kim Addonizio, Joan Larkin & Belle Waring). Carlisle's poems are well crafted and sharp.

Buy a copy.

During a roadtrip I picked this slim volume off the shelf for a gander from a bookstore in magical Ojai, California. I was intrigued by the title, read something about Thomas Lux and dove in. Sitting in a brick courtyard with ivy on the walls (which the Local Hero bookstore/cafe supplied) these poems plucked some heartstrings with deft aplomb. Each poem has a childish delicacy that reminds one (at least me) how foolish adult constructs can rule one's life. There is humor and sadness and beauty in Agran. On the light side there are poems about horse-girls on the playground (something I recall with unabashed joy when I gaze back). In a sadder key there is a particularly disturbing (in a good challenging way) description of a girl who flashes him with 'forlorn nipples' from her car. The reaction is ... Well, anyway, read. These poems are Art (yes, with a capital 'a') and they can be used as tools to confront (not just escape from) the inner-workings of children turned all too adult. Welcome the nostalgia, and invite better parts of yourself you've discarded back.

I entered the poems as a reader, was quickly transformed into a participant, and exited each piece with a vivid memory so clear I was convinced I was an actual participant in every experience Rick described. He opened the door to my imagination, and I was free to fill in my own details.

In the poem Cathedral, Washington DC 1993, I wore my sleeveless print dress, took the seat just left of the center aisle in the tenth pew, admired the stained glass windows, and drank in the music of the string quartet while waiting for the event to begin.

In another poem, One Circle, I heard the machine turning water into coffee and smelled the freshly toasted bread, the strawberry jam, and the wafting smoke of the cigarette. I can still see Jack's black leather boots leaving prints in the grass.

The Crow Milk experience is a series of journeys to be savored.

"....the unloved, forgotten or unseen return to life in Mr. Agran's clear vision: crows, abandoned children, people with AIDS, ... children have seen far too much but survive into artful singing. Often the adults choose not to see...Agran holds it all up for us to see, with the same humor and sass as his crows, as if to say--Don't you see how it all shines?" So writes Mekeel McBride. Poems in Crow Milk, by the host of WUNH's weekly interviews program "Bon Mot" on the spoken word, touch on common themes of concern, as in "At the Edges of Everything...": unloved, unbaptized, unwanted, unfed / the mortal infants of infant mortality, have returned / To this earth embodied as crows. In limbo, these children learned what to live: A petty thievery of the promised land. Steal quietly, little children, the shadows/ Of crows, black comfort....

Other favorites are "Iowa lullaby for a child in the field," "Picked by accident," "Confessional basket- ball," "Wearing Dan's white shirt backwards," and for hunting season, "Shot and left," where the poet recalls "Silence between sounds, unsafe, hollow....a loon-call trill....In woods filled with hunters...."

"Unseen toreador" was inspired by a scene in a suburban front yard in Manchester NH: "Black bull \ charging every red leaf \ falling from a sugar maple...."

Then try "Shivaree" (read by Garrison Keillor on a Writer's Almanac on public radio. Rick Agran's poems are intriguing "snapshots of life, mini-stories with plot, character, tears and laughter." Take a trip to the kitchens, back woods and coast, and return in memory to fun and games and self-discovery in kindergarten, with this perceptive guide in Crow Milk, avoiding the traffic. So then you'll "see how it all shines!"

I found this book when my daughter was 2 years old. I have been writing in it since. She is now 5 years old going on 16, and I know that the time will fly by. I plan on giving this completed book of her life through my eyes to my daughter on her wedding day. Every Father with a little baby girl, whatever her age, should get this book and share his thoughts with her.

It seems cheesy but it really did provide a way for my dad and I to share a lot of our thoughts and feelings. I'll treasure it always.

My dad and I live apart. We haven't seen each other in 2 years. I bought this book for him on his birthday and it brought us closer together than we have ever been. There are just so many things that go unsaid and this book was the perfect way for us each to express them. Often times it is easier to write your feelings down opposed to saying them, this book has all the right topics to get those feelings out. Knowing exactly how we feel about each other is almost magical, I only wish I had found this book sooner. I absoluely loved it, actually, we both did.

This is a great ghost book. It tells true stories about ghosts at Carlisle Barracks, a military post in south central Pennsylvania. I reccomend this book for everyone. It's a quick read and I am sure you will love it. This book has many pictures by photographer Yolanda Robert.
If you believe in ghosts or not it is a good read. I loved the book.

"Excellent book". "May scare you". "I couldn't put it down". These are some of the statements my family and friends have said about this book. It starts with a brief history of Carlisle Barracks and then tells ghost stories heard on the post. I suggest everyone buy this book. This is a good book for all ages. Great for Jr. Teens and Teens, But appeals to all audiences.

This is a great book. There are very few books about ghosts on military installations this is one of them. Its a very good read. Written for the young and the young at heart. If your child is reading chapter books he/she will love this one.
The this short book has good pictures and great stories. I suggest you buy the book it is very interesting. Intense and may scare you.

Welles Henderson started his maritime history collecting as a schoolboy when he invested 50 cents in the USS Constitution, aka Old Ironsides. His first piece was a small anchor, his reward for his contribution to the preservation of this revolutionary war masterpiece. After many years of collecting memorabilia of the sailor's life he started the Philadelphia Maritime Museum, now the Independence Seaport Museum. His intense interest in the shipboard life of Jack Tar comes out in the many illustrations, most in color, many drawn or painted by sailors. Most of these illustrations are of items that he has collected in his world travels. For those interested in the romantic adventures or the dull drudgery of shipboard life in the 19th century this book will be a welcome voyage.

There has never been a book quite like JACK TAR and it couldn't be more welcome. It's a real treasure chest of a book -- sumptuous to look at, a delight to read, and sound in scholarship. It's also a book to enjoy again and again. The authors and designer deserve highest praise.

This book gives an extremely interesting account of the lives of sailors of both the United States and Britain in the age of sailing and steam-powered ships. Through artifacts gathered by nautical antiques collector (and founder of the Independence Seaport Museum in Philadelphia) J. Welles Henderson, we discover what valued most to these men (and a few women) and get a taste of how they passsed their time. An extremely impressive array of images shows their handicrafts (scrimshaw, macramé, etc.), as well as pointing out the dangers and drudgery inherent in the sailors' lives. Topics cover everything from discipline at sea and sailor's misbehavior on shore to acts of piracy and available medical care. Both naval and merchant service experiences are explored. I only wish such a comprehensive volume had been available when I did the research for my novel A Star to Sail By, which features a sailor of the clipper ship era. I would recommend this book to anyone with a love of sea lore and a nostalgia for the age of the great sailing ships.

This book is really touching and should be read by everyone.

This is an excellent book for all ages.

One of the most absorbing history books I have ever read. Tells how a group of socialists became the greatest capitalists in modern France. Beautifully written.

I loved this book. It is the best book on St. Simonianism on the market today.

Upon the first read, I was actually disappointed with this book, mainly because it wasn't what I had expected it to be. But I went back to it and fell in love with it. I have read these stories again and again. So simple yet sophisticated. They are gentle, loving, warm, feel good stories that remind you to celebrate the joy of living. I return to this book when I feel down and it always brightens my spirit. It has remained a constant favorite since the early 1990's.

I had the pleasure to work with Andrea Carlisle as a student, and her very sincere personality shines throughout the pages of this book. Lazy LaRue and Pubah dance liltingly and gaze at the world with one another, one foot slightly in reality but always light-heartedly. These are two women who really love their lives, and through deceptively simple description and dialogue (the characters sneak up on you with subtle epiphanies on existence!), you learn to perhaps appreciate your own world more. I do dearly reccomend this well-loved book------ it is peaceful, loving, and a delight.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It is the type of book you can pick up anytime and browse through for just one story, or read from cover to cover in one sitting. This book gives sweet reflections from fathers and daughters about their relationships. The anecdotes range from humorous and touching, to sad and bittersweet. Any father or daughter can find a story to relate to...and shed tears over with this loving reflection of father/daughter relationships. I would reccommend this book to anyone.

I bought my copy of this book several years ago. It is a wonderful basic cookbook with lots of creative recipes. It is easy to follow, with lots of pictures and step by step instructions. I gave a copy to my daughter when she got her own apartment, and now am ordering one for my new daughter in law. It makes a wonderful gift.

I love to cook and try new recipies often. I have a collection of more than 200 cookbooks, many of them from other countries. I use all of them occasionally and a few of them frequently. The Southern Living Cookbook is one of the books I use most often, for all types of foods. Even after searching other books for unusual, foreign or favorite recipies with a different flair, I find myself coming back to The Southern Living Cookbook. Recipies are easy to follow and the pictures are gorgeous. I have given this book to both my daughters, who also love to cook. Thanks for many hours of pleasure you have given me and my guests!

No cook should be without this cookbook! Absolutely one of the best cookbooks ever! All the recipes are fantastic, and easy to make! Definitely on my Top-10 list of favorite cookbooks! I loved this cookbook so much, I purchased all the other Southern Living cookbooks! This is one cookbook that I would recommend to all my friends and family!