Category: N&S Press

Too Much World, Not Enough Chocolate

by Peggy Landsman

Publication Date: 15 October 2024
Nightingale & Sparrow Press

Genre: Poetry

Too Much World, Not Enough Chocolate begins (in the aptly named, Part One) with the poet vividly recalling her experiences in the second half of the twentieth century, including growing up with Holocaust survivors, living like a hermit in the woods, protesting the Vietnam War, living and working abroad in Israel, Yugoslavia, Japan, and China; and always responding to sexism, which she understands to be ubiquitous. The last lines of the opening poem sum up the complexity of her feelings: “At the beginning of the twenty-first century/the thing that still amazes me/is how easily I startle.”

In Part Two, the poet explores the joys and sorrows of personal relationships between friends, family members, and lovers, as well as the deep and magical connection she experiences to her own imagination and art. All the poems in Part Two contain images of particular foods, and through the alchemy of poetry, by the time we get to the last lines of the last poem in the collection, we see the everyday event of eating a bagel transformed into an epiphany: “… the hole in the bagel’s enough/love finds its way/through Openness.”

Most of the 62 poems in this collection are written in free verse, but a couple of ghazals and a pantoum do put in an appearance.

Excerpts

The Powers of Twelve

Still Life with Onions

Advance Reviews

It’s the music, the intelligence, and all the good food in these poems; the looking back, and within, the looking twice, and three times, the looking around with wonder; the feminism, the Jewishness; the playfulness; the nods to Allen Ginsberg, Vincent Van Gogh, and other writers, artists, thinkers; and finally, the accessibility and honesty of the voice in these wistful, colloquial, entertaining poems that make Peggy Landsman’s Too Much World, Not Enough Chocolate a first full-length collection to not only write home about but to bring home—in your hands—and serve up its deliciousness to your poetry-starved loved ones. — Paul Hostovsky, author of Mostly and Pitching for the Apostates

Too Much World, Not Enough Chocolate is a compelling collection of poems that delves into the intricate facets of human existence against the tumultuous backdrop of global turmoil, effectively conveying a profound sense of hope and resilience. Peggy Landsman discovers solace within the realm of literature, utilizing it as a guiding compass to navigate the world’s complexities. The poems serve as a powerful catalyst, urging introspection and encouraging readers to question the narratives presented to us, ultimately fostering a quest for a more profound comprehension of our roles in shaping history. — Michal Mahgerefteh, Poetica Magazine, Editor

Peggy Landsman’s poems are salty-sweet, with a depth of flavor you can really sink into. Too Much World, Not Enough Chocolate is magically delicious! The poet engages you in her own very personal ball game: “I’m ready at last to reclaim my world,/this ball that I throw back to you.” And, as you read, if you follow her advice to “ring your belly button/see if you’re home,” you may find yourself in a different world, strange yet familiar, weird and welcoming at the same time. — Jessy Randall, author of Mathematics for Ladies: Poems on Women in Science

About the Author

Peggy Landsman is the author of two poetry chapbooks, Our Words, Our Worlds (Kelsay Books, 2021) and To-wit To-woo (Foothills Publishing, 2008). Too Much World, Not Enough Chocolate is her first full-length collection. She lives in South Florida where she swims in the warm Atlantic Ocean every chance she gets.

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Valley Girls Become Valley Women

by E. Oliver

Publication Date: 6 December 2022
Nightingale & Sparrow Press

Genre: Poetry

In an exploration of queer womanhood, Valley Girls Become Valley Women traces its narrator’s struggle to define herself in a space populated by female lovers, relatives, and friends. The enclosed poems weave together childhood traumas, teenage sexual awakenings, and adult anxieties, documenting both a burgeoning queer identity and growing familial expectations. At its core, the collection pulls on ties between women, unraveling the complexities of femininity in the process. The narrator finds herself continually defined by her mother, sister, grandmothers, aunts, and lovers, even as she fails to see remnants of herself within them. Although encapsulating a—rather than the—experience of queer American womanhood, Valley Girls Become Valley Women reflects a ubiquitous longing to understand and be understood without relinquishing one’s sense of self.

The collection travels chronologically from childhood to young adulthood, following its narrator from grade-school field trips to sex-talks over cocktails. Its 62 pages are undeniably a series of love letters to Southern California (if scorched a bit around the edges). The narrator’s life plays out over pitchers of lemonade, in lawns of plastic flamingos, and under brilliant Los Angeles sunsets. In the valley, she hears the stories of her mother and grandmothers and sketches a new one of her own.

Coming Soon

About the Author

E. Oliver (she/her) is a poet and short fiction author based in California. She received her BA in history from CSU Northridge and her MA in history from UC Riverside, where she focused on queerness, gender, and sexuality in Early California. Examples of her work can be found in FUNGI Magazine, Columbia Journal, Stonecoast Review, and Capsule Stories. Her latest poetry chapbook, Homing Pigeon, was released by Louisiana Literature Press in 2022.

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River Ghosts
by Merril D. Smith

Publication Date: 12 April 2021
Nightingale & Sparrow Press

Genre: Poetry

River Ghosts is about love, loss, the natural world, and the passage of time. It explores family and memory, the ghosts that dance through our minds, and the ghosts that whisper from cobblestones, rivers, and houses. It is a book birthed in the grief for a parent and the world during COVID-19. Nevertheless, it also celebrates joy and laughter, and recognizes that though nature’s beauty is transitory, it recurs again and again. Spring follows winter, and new flowers
bloom. We see the light of long-dead stars, even as new stars are born.

This book was compiled after the author’s mother died of COVID-19 in April 2020, although some of the poems were written before pandemic and lockdown. The compilation is a tribute to life and love, and an exploration of mourning and remembrance.

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About the Author

Merril D. Smith lives near the Delaware River in southern New Jersey with her husband and cat. She has a doctorate in American history from Temple University in Philadelphia. Her nonfiction books focus on history, gender, and sexuality. She turned to poetry as a creative outlet several years ago, and her poetry has been published in a variety of literary magazines. River Ghosts is her first full-length poetry book.

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