NEW Book Review of Blood Pudding Press poet Nicole Rollender's poetry chapbook "Bone of My Bone" by Blood Pudding Press poet Alessandra Bava at Sabotage Reviews

In the narrator’s footsteps, we face the grief of giving birth nine weeks early, a baby “rowing out” the inert body “as the waters shake through me.” The speaker asks her dead mother for consolation and help: “You tell her how your body failed, / the baby was born nine weeks early. / Her hands make the shape of wings. / […] You say the hummingbird is too frantic to watch. / To keep the baby alive, you hold him over your heart, / skin on skin.” Images akin to Anne Sexton, confessional in ways that can be beautiful, piercing, harrowing and real.

From another new review of the coming-soon (in less than a week!) Blood Pudding Press poetry chapbook, "Bone of My Bone" by Nicole Rollender.

Thank you kindly to Alessandra Bava for writing this review.

Read the review in its entirety at Sabotage Reviews here -http://sabotagereviews.com/2015/09/01/flesh-of-my-flesh-a-review-of-bone-of-my-bone-by-nicole-ross-rollender/

Pre-order "Bone of My Bone" here - https://www.etsy.com/listing/244912253/preorder-bone-of-my-bone-by-nicole?ref=shop_home_active_2

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The reviewer of this 2015 Contest Winning Blood Pudding Press chapbook happens to be a Winner of last years 2014 Blood Pudding Press chapbook contest.

Partake of and/or purchase Alessandra Bava's "They Talk About Death" here - https://www.etsy.com/listing/195494626/they-talk-about-death-by-alessandra-bava?ref=shop_home_feat_4

NEW Review of "They Talk About Death" by Alessandra Bava (Blood Pudding Press, 2014)

"Ms. Bava “carves her own poems”. The cuts are sure and deep. She has transformed her beloved artists into people of flesh and feeling."

from a new mini-review of Alessandra Bava's "They Talk About Death" (Blood Pudding Press contest winning poetry chapbook of 2014)), thank you to Janeen Rastall.

Read more here - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1202256866

Buy yourself a copy of the chapbook here - https://www.etsy.com/listing/195494626/new-they-talk-about-death-by-alessandra?ref=shop_home_feat_1

NEW Review of "They Talk About Death" by Alessandra Bava (Blood Pudding Press, 2014)

"Inside these pages dwell iconic literary and historical figures, she dips her pen into their universe and extracts her own thoughts from them."

Some thoughts from a new review of the Blood Pudding Press poetry chapbook, "They Talk About Death" by Alessandra Bava.

Thank you to Poet Hound.

Read more here - http://poethound.blogspot.com/2015/01/alessandra-bavas-they-talk-about-death.html

Final Day of They Talk About Death Featured at The Wardrobe's Best Dressed!

"No display cabinets
for you, but black
and white rooms,

unhinged doors,
thresholds leading
everywhere and

anywhere."

from the poem "Taxidermy" by Alessandra Bava

from day FIVE of Alessandra Bava's Blood Pudding Press poetry chapbook, They Talk about Death, being featured at the Wardrobe's Best Dressed!

Read more here - http://sundresspublications.wordpress.com/2014/12/26/the-wardrobes-best-dressed-alessandra-bavas-they-talk-about-death-5/

Procure Bava's chapbook from the Blood Pudding Press shop here -https://www.etsy.com/listing/195494626/new-they-talk-about-death-by-alessandra?ref=shop_home_feat_1

Day Three of They Talk About Death Featured at the Wardrobe's Best Dressed!

"...shiny utensils in your hand
dreaming vowels and drunk boats,
in a preposterous mood?

from today's shared poem, "Rimbaud’s Spoon and Fork" by Alessandra Bava.

from day THREE (Xmas Eve!) of Alessandra Bava's Blood Pudding Press poetry chapbook, They Talk about Death, being featured at the Wardrobe's Best Dressed!

Read more here - http://sundresspublications.wordpress.com/2014/12/24/the-wardrobes-best-dressed-alessandra-bavas-they-talk-about-death-3/

Procure Bava's whole chapbook from the Blood Pudding Press shop here -https://www.etsy.com/listing/195494626/new-they-talk-about-death-by-alessandra?ref=shop_home_feat_1

Happy Creative Xmas/Artmas/Poetmas!

Day Two of They Talk About Death featured at The Wardrobe's Best Dressed!

I twist the arrows in your flesh,
I dip my fingers in your scars

from today's shared poem, "St. Baudelaire" by Alessandra Bava.

from day two of Alessandra Bava's Blood Pudding Press poetry chapbook, They Talk about Death, being featured at the Wardrobe's Best Dressed!

Read more here -http://sundresspublications.wordpress.com/2014/12/23/the-wardrobes-best-dressed-alessandra-bavas-they-talk-about-death-2/

Procure the chapbook for yourself (or a poetry loving friend) here -https://www.etsy.com/listing/195494626/new-they-talk-about-death-by-alessandra?ref=shop_home_feat_1

Choose Books for Xmas!

I love Alessandra Bava's blog post about choosing books for Xmas, especially indie books and poetry books by women writers!

And to make it even better, she names some presses I adore, including {dancing girl press & studio}, Hyacinth Girl Press, Misty Publications, and my own Blood Pudding Press (and more)!

And to make it even better times three (!!!) she recommends one of my own poetry chapbooks (Thirteen Designer Vaginas, published by Hyacinth Girl Press) AND two poetry chapbooks published by my Blood Pudding Press (Letters From Room 27 of the Grand Midway Hotel by Margaret Bashaar - and House on Fire by Susan Yount) as great holiday gifts!

Read Bava's blog post for more suggestions, here - http://poetryrulesbyalessandrabava.blogspot.com/2014/12/choose-books-for-xmas.html?m=1

In addition to Bava's wonderful recommendations, I would also like to recommend HER chapbook, published by Blood Pudding Press, "They Talk About Death" by Alessandra Bava - https://www.etsy.com/listing/195494626/new-they-talk-about-death-by-alessandra?ref=shop_home_feat_1

NEW Review of "They Talk About Death" by Alessandra Bava (Blood Pudding Press 2014) AND it would make a grand holiday gift!

"They Talk About Death is a slim chap of 13 poems, and yet the emotions they rouse from the reader are … HUGE. Recommended."

the end of a new review in which EILEEN TABIOS Engages "They Talk About Death" by Alessandra Bava at the new Galatea Resurrects

read the engagement here - http://galatearesurrection23.blogspot.com/2014/12/they-talk-about-death-by-alessandra-bava.html

then consider purchasing "They Talk About Death" from the Blood Pudding Press shop here - https://www.etsy.com/listing/195494626/new-they-talk-about-death-by-alessandra?ref=shop_home_active_3

"They Talk About Death" is a poetry chapbook that would make a grand holiday gift for certain poetic creatures in your life!

New Review of They Talk About Death!

"Alessandra Bava's They Talk About Death, the Italian poet and translator's American publishing debut, is a visually stunning piece of art. The book is handmade, ribbon-bound, and is crafted with brightly colored and textured paper. Erin Wells' cover art, "Yellow Carousel Horse," marches lockstep with the content of the collection, resembling, in skull form, a mash-up of Sylvia Plath's portrait and the horse her greatest work is named for, Ariel."

and

"They Talk About Death serves at once as a historical map to famous lives and deaths (Bava recalls the birth of Breton's Exquisite Corpse game and Sylvia Plath's last actions for her children) and as an extrapolation that dreams up a new backstory to each of these deaths."

A few samples from Sandra Marchetti's New Review of "They Talk About Death" by Alessandra Bava (Blood Pudding Press, 2014).

Read the review in its entirety within the New Menacing Hedge (and while there, read more of the new Menacing Hedge innards too) here - http://www.menacinghedge.com/fall2014/review-marchetti.php

Then consider purchasing Bava's chapbook from the Blood Pudding Press shop here - https://www.etsy.com/listing/195585261/halloween-they-talk-about-death-by?ref=shop_home_feat_2

(P.S. It is not too late to receive a special discount of 25% off this chapbook and other Blood Pudding Press offerings. Just enter Coupon Code HALLOWEEN25 when you make your purchase.)

Another New Review of the Blood Pudding Press chapbook, They Talk About Death

Happy darkly delicious September!

This month is starting off with a wonderfully detailed new review by Jennifer MacBain-Stephens, of the latest Blood Pudding Press poetry chapbook, "They Talk About Death" by Alessandra Bava. 

Below are some lines from the review - and you may read the whole review within the new Infoxicated Corner, here - http://www.thethepoetry.com/category/infoxicated-corner/

And then if you are compelled to read all 13 poems from within the chapbook, it can be purchased from the Blood Pudding Press shop here - http://www.etsy.com/shop/BloodPuddingPress

"Lives cut short by drugs, suicide, illness, and murder – these artists and writers inspire Bava’s work. In this chapbook, assembled and handmade by editor and publisher Juliet Cook, ghosts requite and haunt red-walled Parisian cafes, New York street corners, and dark, succulent gardens."

and

"Bava’s muses struggled throughout life to find their place and, whether through confessional poetry or offending critics, Bava portrays this glorious, marginalized group (some of them only achieving prominence postmortem,) in all of their eccentric and damaged glory.

In the titular, opening poem, the scene of a salon is staged. Writers talk and sip absinthe; as “Sylvia talks of her first attempt. Anne [Sexton] listens attentively…” the scene becomes almost like a portrayal of two school girls discussing a crush – words such as “sweet,” “infectious laugh,” and “loving,” convey an innocent intimacy; discussing death feels like looking for the shape of a friend in the dark at a sleepover."

and

"The cover art, by Erin Wells, is eerily reminiscent of Sylvia’s famous blond curls. These curls, however, fall over a horse skull, such an apropos illustration for this collection – the whimsical carousel ride of childhood juxtaposed with the ominous horse skull, to somewhat terrifying effect. We are reminded that, though childhood ends eventually, these beasts continue to gallop in a circle forever, reaching up towards heaven and down towards hell, keeping all riders in a state of limbo. Perhaps the resurrected ghosts of these artists and writers find themselves locked into similar patterns: Sylvia, for example, so gregarious and lovely, almost child-like herself in so many photos, gave life and conformist roles a shot, but in the end, her own darkness was the all-consuming role." 

Apocalypse of Words: Interview with Alessandra Bava (regarding her Blood Pudding Press chapbook, "They Talk About Death")

KL: Your lines on García Lorca speak to every artist’s fear of being silenced, the work unfinished. Can the work ever be finished?

AB: García Lorca was murdered and silenced, but his words still speak and resonate deeply today. The work will never be finished, even after death occurs. What we have written will ultimately still be there for somebody else to read.

a few lines from the new interview of Alessandra Bava, about her new poetry chapbook, "They Talk About Death" (Blood Pudding Press, 2014), appearing within Cultural Weekly.

Read more here - http://www.culturalweekly.com/apocalypse-words-

You can also read five poems from the chapbook within this interview.

Then if you desire to read the other poems in the chapbook (while holding it in your hands), you can find out more and/or get your very own copy here - https://www.etsy.com/listing/195494626/new-they-talk-about-death-by-alessandra?ref=shop_home_active_13

NEW July Thirteen Myna Birds Flock!

A new oozing update to the Thirteen Myna Birds flock, offering an odd entourage of uncanny new poetry morsels by Jennifer MacBain-Stephens, Daniel M. Shapiro, Donavon Davidson, Jeffrey Zable, and John Grey - preceded by a teaser piece from the new Blood Pudding Press poetry chapbook, "They Talk About Death" by Alessandra Bava. Step inside if you dare - http://13myna.blogspot.com/.

"I dip my fingers in your scars - pilfering flesh like it was the future - kinetic spasms of gloss, hair, bone, and tendon - when light strikes light head on, a life must end - a cut, dirty swan - falling into a dark hole - dead fruit falling from trees - seep up through rotting flower stalks - little lambs eat their hearts out - it immediately disintegrated in my hands - fingertips to blades - hyenas in celluloid nightgowns"

They Talk About Death by Alessandra Bava - NEW Blood Pudding Press Poetry chapbook!

They Talk About Death by Alessandra Bava is the third contest winning Blood Pudding Press poetry chapbook of 2014

This is Bava's first chapbook published within the United States.

They Talk About Death is available here - http://www.etsy.com/listing/195585261/new-they-talk-about-death-by-alessandra?

Cover Art - Yellow Carousel Horse by Erin Wells.

Available with Vanilla Skull Cover, Medium Blue Cover, or Off White Cover.

Hand bound with artsy yarn, either Sea Orange or Medium Blue - OR with Dusty Rose ribbon.

The innards include thirteen poems, inspired by/based upon other writers/artists who died young, including Sylvia Plath, Anne Sexton, Garcia Lorca, Rimbaud, and Baudelaire.

Below is part of the chapbook's title poem, followed by more biographical information about the poet.

Buy the book to read more.

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"Sylvia talks of her
first attempt. Anne
listens attentively.
Her lucid,

blue stare
beautifies the dark
suicidal words:
the sweet,

terrible act dissected
with loving details
as on a morgue
table"

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Alessandra Bava lives and works in the Eternal city. She holds an MA in American Literature and manages her own translation agency. She is the author of two bilingual chapbooks, NOCTURNE (Edizioni Pulcinoelefante, 2013) and GUERRILLA BLUES (Edizioni Ensemble, 2012).

THEY TALK ABOUT DEATH is her third chapbook but her first US published chapbook. Her fourth chapbook is forthcoming from Dancing Girl Press. She is the editor of ROME'S REVOLUTIONARY POETS BRIGADE ANTHOLOGY Vol. 1 (Edizioni Ensemble, 2012) and ARTICOLO 1 (Albeggi Edizioni, 2014). Her poems have appeared in several journals such as Plath Profiles, THRUSH Poetry Journal, Empty Mirror and Left Curve. In 2010 she had a cathartic encounter with SF Poet Laureate Jack Hirschman and she is currently writing his biography.


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Here is a link to the first 2014 Blood Pudding Press contest wining chapbook - House on Fire by Susan Yount - https://www.etsy.com/listing/177826146/new-house-on-fire-by-susan-yount-2014?

Here is a link to the second Blood Pudding Press contest winning chapbook - Stick Up by Paul David Adkins - https://www.etsy.com/listing/188110107/new-stick-up-by-paul-david-adkins-2014?