When the winners of the 2010 Pulitzer Prizes were announced recently, I was pleased to see Tinkers, a debut novel by Paul Harding, had been chosen for the fiction award. Indeed, many were surprised by the selection: not only was this an initial book for the author, but also a small fledgling nonprofit publisher, Bellevue Literary Press (a project of the New York University School of Medicine), had released the volume.
Indeed, an article that appeared in the New York Times following news of the Pulitzer Prize selections labeled Tinkers as the “one that got away” not just because the major publishing houses missed out on the book, but also because the New York Times hadn’t even bothered to review the novel. As Gregory Cowles explained: “Every now and then a good book completely passes us by: we don’t get a copy, for whatever reason, and we don’t request one because the book’s not on our radar. That’s what happened with Paul Harding’s first novel, Tinkers, which was published at the beginning of 2009 by the Bellevue Literary Press, a small publisher that had only been in business for a couple of years.”
The publisher reports Harding’s Tinkers as a novel chronicling the thoughts and imagination of a dying man. It is a book “about the legacy of consciousness and the porousness of identity from one generation to the next. At once heartbreaking and life affirming, it is an elegiac meditation on love, loss, and the fierce beauty of nature.” Although Harding signed a two-book publication deal with Random House after Tinkers was published, those of us who especially appreciate small presses enjoyed this opportunity to remind everyone of their important role in contemporary American literature.
Likewise, I’d like to remind readers about Bellevue Literary Review, also published by the Department of Medicine at New York University Press. On its website, the journal is described by its editors: “Bellevue Literary Review is a unique literary magazine that examines human existence through the prism of health and healing, illness and disease. Each issue is filled with high quality, easily accessible poetry, short stories, and essays that appeal to a wide audience of readers. Because of the universal themes, many readers feel a personal connection to the BLR and find reflections of their own lives and experiences.” In fact, the journal also carries a descriptive subtitle—A journal of humanity and human experience.
I am particularly proud to note that one of my new poems, “Autism: Hyperlexia,” appears in the Spring 2010 issue of Bellevue Literary Review. The full table of contents for the current issue includes poetry, fiction, and nonfiction by Amanda Auchter, Callista Bachen, Allison Baker, Edward Byrne, Jack Coulehan, Gregg Cusick, M.M. De Voe, Fay Dillof, Albert Dixon, Ron Drummond, Rachel Contreni Flynn, Larry Hill, Mark Holden, Helen Hooper, Joan Kip, Margaret Kogan, Jenifer Browne Lawrence, Kent Leathem, Carol McCarthy, David Milofsky, Anna Mirer, Nancy Carol Moody, Amanda Newell, Ben Orlando, Rebecca B. Rank, Alexa Rose Steinberg, and Virginia Chase Sutton.
I offer a sneak preview of the issue with “Autism: Hyperlexia,” and I urge readers to visit the Bellevue Literary Review website to order a copy or to begin a subscription.
Indeed, an article that appeared in the New York Times following news of the Pulitzer Prize selections labeled Tinkers as the “one that got away” not just because the major publishing houses missed out on the book, but also because the New York Times hadn’t even bothered to review the novel. As Gregory Cowles explained: “Every now and then a good book completely passes us by: we don’t get a copy, for whatever reason, and we don’t request one because the book’s not on our radar. That’s what happened with Paul Harding’s first novel, Tinkers, which was published at the beginning of 2009 by the Bellevue Literary Press, a small publisher that had only been in business for a couple of years.”
The publisher reports Harding’s Tinkers as a novel chronicling the thoughts and imagination of a dying man. It is a book “about the legacy of consciousness and the porousness of identity from one generation to the next. At once heartbreaking and life affirming, it is an elegiac meditation on love, loss, and the fierce beauty of nature.” Although Harding signed a two-book publication deal with Random House after Tinkers was published, those of us who especially appreciate small presses enjoyed this opportunity to remind everyone of their important role in contemporary American literature.
Likewise, I’d like to remind readers about Bellevue Literary Review, also published by the Department of Medicine at New York University Press. On its website, the journal is described by its editors: “Bellevue Literary Review is a unique literary magazine that examines human existence through the prism of health and healing, illness and disease. Each issue is filled with high quality, easily accessible poetry, short stories, and essays that appeal to a wide audience of readers. Because of the universal themes, many readers feel a personal connection to the BLR and find reflections of their own lives and experiences.” In fact, the journal also carries a descriptive subtitle—A journal of humanity and human experience.
I am particularly proud to note that one of my new poems, “Autism: Hyperlexia,” appears in the Spring 2010 issue of Bellevue Literary Review. The full table of contents for the current issue includes poetry, fiction, and nonfiction by Amanda Auchter, Callista Bachen, Allison Baker, Edward Byrne, Jack Coulehan, Gregg Cusick, M.M. De Voe, Fay Dillof, Albert Dixon, Ron Drummond, Rachel Contreni Flynn, Larry Hill, Mark Holden, Helen Hooper, Joan Kip, Margaret Kogan, Jenifer Browne Lawrence, Kent Leathem, Carol McCarthy, David Milofsky, Anna Mirer, Nancy Carol Moody, Amanda Newell, Ben Orlando, Rebecca B. Rank, Alexa Rose Steinberg, and Virginia Chase Sutton.
I offer a sneak preview of the issue with “Autism: Hyperlexia,” and I urge readers to visit the Bellevue Literary Review website to order a copy or to begin a subscription.
AUTISM: HYPERLEXIA
My son eyed the large and wide print
. . . . . stenciled across an interstate billboard.
At three, he’d already taught himself
. . . . . to read over a year earlier, even before
he could tell anyone how well he knew
. . . . . to spell words we had never heard him
say. My wife and I were surprised
. . . . . once again by the way he spoke terms
learned through no method we know,
. . . . . on this day reciting lines of a highway
advertisement shining under bright
. . . . . summer sunlight, its bold gold and red
lettering—Family accommodations,
. . . . . adventurous activities, and exhilarating
attractions ahead—sending a message
. . . . . to tourists that now seems meant more
to us as a lesson we only discovered
. . . . . somewhere much farther down the road.
—Edward Byrne
8 comments:
I recently learned about Bellevue Literary Review and find it to be an impressive publication.
Congratulations on having your beautiful poem published there.
I particularly like the lyric in the phrase "shining under bright / summer sunlight, its bold gold and red lettering."
Fantastic news that small presses are on the radar of judges for the Big Prizes such as the Pulitzer!
Would you consider adding the "followers" gadget to your blogpost template? I'd like to keep track or your posts.
Congratulations on the publication of this beautiful poem.
May I post it, with a link to your blog, on my blog, Hyperlexicon, where I write about raising a son with Hyperlexia? I think my readers would really enjoy it.
Thank you!
Christa
christajdahlstrom@gmail.com
http://hyperlexicon.blogspot.com/
Hi, Judith. Thanks for your suggestion. I have added a "followers" box in the sidebar.
—Ed
Thank you, Christa.
Of course, please feel free to use the poem on your blog and direct your readers to "One Poet's Notes" for additional poems or information. I will check out your blog as well.
Isn't it an unusual experience filled with many surprises having a child with hyperlexia?
Best wishes,
Ed
Edward,
What a tender, gorgeous, important poem! A poem hasn't reached me like this in a long while. Thank you!
Kyle
krvlibrary.blogspot.com
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