TERSE. Journal

365 Books in 365 Days – Episode 182 by Annie Walton Doyle

Milk Teeth by Jessica Andrews “I want to grow bigger than my shame, to have mass and identity, to leave marks and indentations, to prove my own existence.” Hunger is so prominent in Jessica Andrews’ Milk Teeth that it becomes bigger than just a theme and more of an all-pervasive, visceral feeling. It’s a hunger…
Family Abolition Communizing of Care: A Review by Renya

“Family abolition.” It’s a phrase that, for many people, likely conjures up images of forceful separations of family members, legal penalties for certain relationships, or other authoritarian measures designed to tear us from our loved ones. In Family Abolition: The Communizing of Care (Pluto Press, 2023), this isn’t what author M.E. O’Brien is desiring at…
365 Books in 365 Days – Episode 188 by Annie Walton Doyle

Brutes by Dizz Tate “We felt foul and fatherly and frightened of ourselves. We tried to make ourselves small. We were coiled up but we were not broken. And we knew our mothers’ idea of goodness was not measured by morals but by how much noise we made. And quickly we grew tired of trying…
Desecrated Salvation – Ai Weiwei by Jason Collins

Ai Weiwei is a Chinese contemporary artist who is also known to be an activist. Growing up in exile within the Northwest region of China, Ai has been critical of the Central government that runs China in his work. Ai has also had altercations with the Chinese police, with one incident ending with him needing…
“Exit, The Woodshed” and “Riddled” by Dezy Kosmo

Exit, The Woodshed I can’t seem to write the final poem that blank page that percolates when gathering inklings condensed in under-breath utterings set scolding through the streets unable to concoct a catalyst that can capture it’s light in more than negatives washed in my gut-scalping’s steam in virulescent light of this abominable woodshed this…
Witches in Fiction: The Good and the Bad By Dawn Colclasure

“Are you a good witch or a bad witch?” A good majority of people the world over will recognize this line from the classic movie, The Wizard of Oz, but for many writers of fiction, this question hits different if they have a witch in their story. Not only do these writers need to ensure…
When We Lost Our Heads: A Review By T.S. McNeil

There is a strong social push toward order. At least in terms of western democracies, including those that also have queens, whether they want to or not. Even so, chaos, or at least a need for freedom, can be found in almost every human heart. Canada is a country with order baked into its DNA. The…
365 Books in 365 Days – Episode 178 by Annie Walton Doyle

Pew by Catherine Lacey “Can only other people tell you what your body is, or is there a way that you can know something truer about it from the inside, something that cannot be seen or explained?” Pew by Catherine Lacey hinges on a unique and bizarre conceit. The novel opens with our main character,…
From Pandemonium to Eden – Hieronymus Bosch by Jason Collins

Hieronymus Bosch was a Dutch painter who researchers are still studying and learning new things about today. This is not surprising considering he is believed to be born somewhere between 1450 and 1456 in a Dutch city called s-Hertogenbosch in the Netherlands. Bosch’s art style is mostly oil paint on panels and focuses on aspects…
365 Books in 365 Days – Episode 167 by Annie Walton Doyle

Death Valley by Melissa Broder “I came to escape a feeling – an attempt that’s already going poorly, because unfortunately I’ve brought myself with me, and I see, as the pink light creeps out to infinity, that I am still the kind of person who makes another person’s coma about me.” There are certain authors…