Views and Mechanics Publisher's Note Editor's Note Review of The Pittsburgh That Stays Within You Review of If Instead of Apes We Had Come from Grapes Review of Anson County Review of Dissolution of Ghosts Crossword (Solution Posted in July. Printable version in pdf format of journal.) Mar/Apr Crossword Solution Creative Nonfiction 1998 By Samuel Hazo Booing the Pope By Matthew D. Taylor Sgt. Robert Starbuck, USMC: Elegy and Essay By John Guthrie Shrink Wrap, Diet Cokes and a Kazoo By Sara J. Ford Poetry And the Time Is By Samuel Hazo In His Winter By Wanda D. Campbell Lester By Thomas Reynolds Generation Gap By Valerie Lauria Stanske Two Poets By Gary C. Wilkens Mongolia, 1930 By Gary C. Wilkens Fiction A Death in the Family By John Speeking Letters By Suzanne Abbot Among the Briars By Pat Tompkins Filling in the Angles By Jessica DelBalzo Miss Mary By Beth L. Block 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 If Instead of Apes We Had Come from Grapes If Instead of Apes We Had Come From Grapes is a refreshing step back to a time when light verse wasn’t weighed down by the heavy issues of the day. Alan Van Dine’s lighthearted cynicism and wry sense of humor gleams in every passage. Collected from works previously published in Saturday Review and previously unpublished works, this volume is the sum of Van Dine’s self-proclaimed procrastination verse. From the Church, to historical figures, to mid-sized cities of the US, these verses poke gentle fun at the aspects of life – both large and small. “You may also discover that writing light verse is a good way to shift gears in your brain – to let your neurons know (which is what neurons do) that you appreciate their versatility, and to let your left brain take a sabbatical from problem-solving to have some fun rummaging around in your right brain’s tool boxes and toy chests.” Van Dine could have expanded this concept to the act of reading light verse as well. If Instead of Apes We Had Come From Grapes is a vacation for the busy mind that fits easily on any bookshelf. Teachers and professors of all levels could find a use for this either in the classroom to relieve tedium, or in the break room. As Van Dine says, “A happy brain is a healthy brain…” |