Böcker utgivna av Vine Leaves Press

***Poetry to breathe in, by one of Twitter's most popular micropoets.***In his fourth collection, Bauke Kamstra presses even deeper into the unknown and unknowable of human nature, even as he raises micro-poetry to a new formal perfection with a virtuosity that is as vibrant and revelatory as it is fluid and natural. Rife with the lush, concise sensuality of Basho’s greatest haiku, yet laughing in the face of strangling constraints, these poems explore the relationship between human and air, breathing, space, and an apprehensive grounding in reality. A sense of need will take you on a varied voyage beyond the farthest edge of desire, only to leave you craving more.This is a book for savoring, for relishing, for sharing with the world. The ebook version comes as a gift with this book, and within the digital copy are links with each poem to share with your followers on Twitter. We want to change the world by injecting beauty and passion, and you can help us do that by sending these words out. Provoke conversation and bring some style and charm to your social media presence.

If Joy Williams and Raymond Carver had a love child that was often left in the care of Lydia Davis it might grow up to be Jayne Martin. Martin's writing evokes the literary DNA of those who have influenced her most, while in a style and voice that is uniquely her own.In these 38 tiny tales, everyday people do their best to manage the wounds life inflicts on all of us: A six-year-old beauty pageant contestant strives to please her demanding mother; a woman marries a 1985 Buick LeSabre; in a laundromat bored wives fall under the romantic spell of a lobster; a grown woman is still being fat-shamed by her deceased mother via a Ouija board; a widow carries her husband's ashes around in Baggies.With pathos and humor, these and all of the characters in this collection will speak to the reader's own wounded heart.

A woman sacrifices her children to save herself in an act of desperation. A political prisoner succumbs to his worst fears in a struggle to survive. A politician disappears in the midst of a reelection campaign only to be replaced by a cockroach who has assumed his likeness.Letters from Inside is a collection of stories that defy logic and yet tap into unrecognized truths about modern society: a twenty-first century vision of existential dysphoria. Heavily influenced by Kafka and Gogol, Mike Maggio confronts realities that stare us daily in the face, realities we blithely ignore as we blindly go about our daily lives.Written over a period of 30 years, this collection of stories gathers the best of Maggio's work, including the critically acclaimed Suddenly, There Was Harold, which has been called his masterpiece.

You already know a lot more about poetry than you think. Ever recited nursery rhymes? How about sung lyrics or jingles for products? There's a bit of poetry in all of these and in much of your everyday life.This book was written to ignite the many stages of your poetry-writing journey, from the first spark of an idea through the editing and publication process.Chock-full of real-world advice, poetry examples, and prompts-here's inspiration to turbo-charge your verse for writers of all skill levels as well as plenty of creativity for workshops and classes within these packed pages.

Welcome to a genre that has zoomed into public notice with the Internet age and yet has a rich history. Flashes in both fiction and nonfiction are highly sought after by editors and publishers across a wide array of publications. This practical guide covers a diverse range of topics from the first spark of an idea through to the writing, editing, and submission/publication process, offering real-world advice each step of the way from a teacher and fellow writer with twenty-years publishing experience. Featuring thematic writing prompts and flash examples from authors such as Dinty W. Moore, founder of Brevity, this book is equally inspiring for classrooms, workshops, and individual writers excited about polishing their craft.

From childhood to old age, the remarkable women of She Receives the Night bear the burden of the world's darkness and carry it toward the light. Robert Earle's dazzling stories illuminate the decisive moment in a woman's life when she realizes she must break through the shells and traps of relationships gone bad, customs too confining, governments too brutal, and grief too relentless. Like their counterparts in the fiction of Joy Williams and Alice Munro, these characters are tormented but resilient, abused but unyielding, sharp-eyed and sharp-witted. Na Cheon escapes a work camp in North Korea Elizabeth rescues Marta from war in Central America Henry becomes Henrietta in New York Diane assumes the presidency in Washington Katherine defies the police north of Rome Lucy finds peace in the Oregon woods. She Receives the Night tells stories of women everywhere from New Mexico to Melbourne. They are young and old. Their lives are the landscape of the heart.

When a terrifying gang goes on a rampage at a packed subway station, Professor Jeremy Withers is severely beaten and left for dead. When he regains consciousness, he continues his journey to campus, only to find his office empty: His life as an academic for 30 years has been completely erased. A surprise visit from two mysterious inspectors complicates matters further. Do they want information about his attack? Who are they working for? Where can he locate them? Soon Jeremy finds himself lost in a world that seems uncanny and unforgiving, searching for answers from people he cannot find.

At age 24, Janet Buttenwieser moved to Seattle with a resume devoted to public service and fantasies of single-handedly ending poverty. But within a year she'd developed an intestinal illness so rare she wound up in a medical journal. Janet navigated misdiagnosis, multiple surgeries, and life with a permanent colostomy. Like many female patients her concerns were glossed over by doctors. She was young and insecure, major liabilities in her life as a patient. How would she advocate for low-income people when she couldn't even advocate for herself?Janet's model for assertiveness was her friend Beth. She was the kind of friend who'd accompany you to the doctor when you got dysentery in Ecuador, nonchalantly translating the graphic details of your symptoms into Spanish. Throughout Janet's illness Beth took care of her; then she developed brain cancer and their roles reversed. Eventually Janet recovered, but Beth's condition worsened. At the age of 38, Beth died. To cope, Janet competed in endurance events, becoming a triathlete with a colostomy pouch. With themes that echo Susannah Cahalan's Brain on Fire and Gail Caldwell's Let's Take the Long Way Home, GUTS is a story of resilience for the millions of Americans who manage to thrive while living with a chronic condition, as well as the many who've lost a loved one at a young age.

As for who reads this bookAnd who follows its spellsI know your nameYou will not die after your deathIn WalmartYou will not perish foreverFor I know your nameSo begins this darkly comic incantation on the gods and scourges of the 21st century. The Walmart Book of the Dead was inspired by the ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead, funerary texts with accompanying illustrations containing spells to preserve the spirit of the deceased in the afterlife. In Lucy Biederman's version, shoplifters, grifters, drifters, and hustlers, desirous children, greeters, would-be Marxists, wolves, and circuit court judges wander Walmart unknowingly consigned to their afterlives.';This BOOK is for the dark hours, the seam that ties the end of the evening to sunrise, when the bad, wrong things people do in and around Walmart are a hospital infection, red Rit dye in a load of whites, a gun in a classroom: by the time the problem is identified, it's already ruined everything.'

Not a Place on Any Map, winner of the 2016 Vine Leaves Vignette Collection Award, explores the switch-backing emotional terrain of traumas and triumphs, as well as the disparate landscapes where they unfold. In rich, evocative snapshots of Chicago, the desert Southwest, California, New England, and Texas, the book traces a peripatetic childhood shaped by loss and dislocation that tumbles into an early adulthood spent chasing excitement from coast to coast and abroad. After being raped in Italy on her first trip to Europe at twenty-five, the author goes adrift in despair from which only drugs and alcohol provide escape. The flash lyric essays in this debut collection pursue a lost sense of self and home after trauma, but as the author discovers, home is not a place marked neatly on any map. Reaching recovery takes years and detours through depression, blurred landscapes, rehab, and jail. Ultimately, the book maps not home at all, but a truer place, one made all the sweeter for having travelled so far to find it.

In You. I. Us, Annalisa Crawford captures everyday people during poignant defining moments in their lives: An artist puts his heart into his latest sketch, an elderly couple endures scrutiny by a fellow diner, an ex-student attempts to make amends with a girl she bullied at school, a teenager holds vigil at his friend's hospital bedside, long distance lovers promise complete devotion, a broken-hearted widow stares into the sea from the edge of a cliff where her husband died, a grieving son contacts the only person he can rely on in a moment of crisis, a group of middle-aged friends inspire each other to live remarkable lives. Day after day, we make the same choices. But after reading You. I. Us., you'll ask yourself, ';What if we didn't?'

Greek cuisine, smog and domestic drudgery was not the life Australian musician, Melody, was expecting when she married a Greek music promoter and settled in Athens, Greece. Keen to play in her new shoes, though, Melody trades her guitar for a 'proper' career and her music for motherhood. That is, until she can bear it no longer and plots a return to the stage--and the person she used to be. However, the obstacles she faces along the way are nothing compared to the tragedy that awaits.This novel is accompanied by an all-original soundtrack, written and performed by the author, entitled, Melody Hill: On the Other Side. If you purchase this book, please send your receipt to Jessica via her website, and she'll send you the soundtrack for free.