Reviews

Driving through the Country before You Are Born

"Ray McManus's incantatory rhythms, his catalogs of nouns (and sometimes verbs), carry us into the liminal territory between experience and music, which is to say, the territory of dream." -Susan Ludvigson, author of Sweet Confluence: New and Selected Poems and Escaping the House of Certainty

"The poetry in Ray McManus's first collection is touched by a light hand that points to and illuminates its sparkling surfaces and deep interior spaces. The work searches out, mourns, and celebrates place, family, love, and death — at all times asserting the continuity between what can be seen and what must be imagined. . . . This book is full of fervor and grace and is driven by a fierce regard for language and an understated moral vision. A terrific debut." -Eamonn Wall, author of Refuge at DeSoto Bend and From the Sin-é Cafe to the Black Hills

"Beautiful poetry but not for children.
I purchased this book for my son after hearing Mr. Mcmanus speak. All of his poetry is very thought provoking and skilled, however some of the content is not for children. I have copied pages my son can read. I would love to see a book by Mr. Mcmanus that children could read without censure!" - L. Saylor, July 7, 2007, Amazon.com

Nimrod International Journal

The theme for this issue is "Who We Are," which is about as broad a topic as there can be. Nothing really "unifies" these stories and poems. Many of the poems are less than exciting and many of them are too baldly emotional for my taste. There are some interesting poems here, though, including Virgil Suarez's two opening pieces, "Tamarind" and "Orange Pickers," and "Red Barn" by Ray McManus, which is very seriously dark. The nonfiction piece in this issue, "My Trianon: A Palimpsest" is an interesting look at a woman's immigrant family history and personal debility. The piece of writing I enjoyed most was "The Escape Artist," by David Cranes, which begins "They say it can't be done, but in the end, nothing contains us." (Nimrod International Journal, Volume 46, Number 2, Spring/Summer 2003) - JG, Contributor, The New Pages Literary Magazine Reviews