Views and Mechanics Publisher's Note Editor's Note Review of A Man Without a Country Review of Gail's Place Review of Three 1-Act Plays Review of Yesterday's A Dream Crossword (Solution Posted in May. Printable version in pdf format of journal.) Jan/Feb Crossword Solution Creative Nonfiction Imagining Nora By Lisa Norris Loving the Fat Girl By Christina Fisanick Nate's Fish and Poultry Shop By G. David Schwartz The Folly of Valentine's Day By Andy Martello Poetry Hawk King By Wanda D. Campbell After the Rain By Wanda D. Campbell You Cannot Fold the Flood. By Mariela Perez-Simons And Darkness Fell By Beth L. Block Demise of a Family Resort By Carolyn Howard-Johnson The Asparagus Cutters By Joe Wilkins Fiction Voices By Ed Boyd Little White Sambo By Brett Alan Sanders Dies Irae By Timothy Reilly Follow By Dawn Paul Crumbs By Kim Tremblett Cover Art Photography by Seth Brown About the Contributors © 2006, River Walk Journal and respective authors and artists. All rights reserved. Do not use or reproduce without permission. River Walk Journal, Inc. Board of Directors Chairman - Elizabeth Ross Vice Chairman - Joseph Koch Secretary/Treasurer - Geri Stock-Ross Editorial Director - Patti Kurtz, DA Literacy Director - Bill Mausteller Policy Director - PA State Rep. Jess Stairs Advisory Board Chairman - Patti Kurtz, DA Asst. Chairman - Dan Lachenman, PhD Samuel Hazo Christopher Leland Edwin Yoder Joseph Bathanti Journal Staff Publisher - Elizabeth Ross Editor-In-Chief - Joseph Koch Sen. Fiction Editor - Patti Kurtz Sen. Poetry Editor - Neeldhara Misra Sen. Creative Nonfiction Editor - Brenda Coxe Contributing Editor - Robert Dittman Publicity Director (PA) - Geri Stock-Ross For information about submissions, visit http://www.riverwalkjournal.org/submission.html. Questions about promotions, subscribers' services, and advertising should be sent to publisher@riverwalkjournal.org. River Walk Journal, Inc. is a non-profit corporation run entirely by volunteers. For information about volunteer opportunities and internships, visit http://www.riverwalkjournal.org/volunteer.html. |
Review of Yesterday's a Dream By R.S. McIntosh An article in Writer’s Digest once described the difference between a great writer and a great storyteller. Simply put a great writer has an impressive mastery of words but is not necessarily adept at telling a creative, fictional story. The great storyteller, on the other hand, captivates with the same tools while telling an involving imaginary story. Pure writing heaven, the article concluded, is to have both qualities in the same artist. Ironically we sometimes get a skillful storyteller who is a mediocre writer or vice versa. All of which brings us to neophyte writer and local (Irwin, PA) talent R.S. McIntosh. Her first published work Yesterday’s a Dream brings us into a complex world of conspiracy, kidnapping, murder, amnesia, love and a relatively generous dose of religion. The end result is a truly mixed bag. It is a little like watching a small child awkwardly maneuvering their first tricycle. It would be premature to enter her into the Grand Prix but equally premature to dismiss her completely as a future competitor. In this effort and to her credit McIntosh is refreshingly not long winded. She maneuvers a complex plot into just over 200 pages. She effectively brings local, small town color remarkably alive while she weaves what is sporadically a page-turner. Working the graveyard shift, Randy, a local police officer, finds a beautiful, semi-conscious 30ish young lady in a dumpster. Cryptic, partial identification on her person identifies her as ‘Samantha Stone’. After being taken to a safe place she is found to be suffering from dehydration and has sever amnesia but is otherwise in one piece. As the plot unfolds she begins to remember a fragmentary but increasing vision of a handsome older gentleman’s face. With the help of her rescuer and other assorted benefactors we discover that while ‘Sam’ has no idea what a library is or how to tie her shoes, she is possessed of remarkable medical knowledge and lifesaving techniques. Along the way it is discovered that there are very real threats to ‘Sam’ and her sanity. Readers familiar with Irwin and the surrounding area will enjoy picking out well-trod landmarks. On the downside of this literary equation is a work awash in syntactical problems, grammar and punctuation faux pas and sloppy transitions. McIntosh’s dialogue flow, for example, is hampered by periodic blurry references as to who is speaking to whom. The inevitable love interest alternates between charming and intrusive. McIntosh is not shy about introducing readers to the Christian faith. In the last quarter of the book God gets extensive and unashamed billing, a curiously intense religious slant from a work that is not billed as “religious”. It is worth the trip but McIntosh causes some frayed literary nerves en route. To be fair this is a first effort and must be judged on that basis. Next time closer attention to mechanics, syntax, and grammar will go a long way. Basic writing talent, vivid imagination and a feel for creative information flow are already there. Robert Dittman |