The dramatic climax of The Sea of Fertility tetraology takes place in the late 1960s. Honda, now an aged and wealthy man, discovers and adopts a sixteen-year-old orphan, Toru, as his heir, identifying him with the tragic protagonists of the three previous novels, each of whom died at the age of twenty. Honda raises and educates the boy, yet watches him, waiting.

Move over Buddha! Here comes Chiaia! The book of poems is broken into two parts. Part one is a travelogue told in a haiku-like style covering Malaysia to Korea. Part Two is a more aggressive mantra with terror-laden conversations between a Person and a Mushroom, Odes to things such as Kitsch Technology and For the Sake of It, and experimental poems filled with codes and HTML text.Ten Poems about East Asia and Kitsch Nebula Ampersands And by Ralph-Michael Chiaia has the simple charm of a haiku mixed with the rant of Ginsberg. In his first collection of poetry he has sat in with a string quartet and rocked it through stacked Bose speakers -- though the speakers may have been blown. The book of poems is broken into two parts. Part one is travelogue with a very simple elegant style looking at countries throughout Asia. Part Two is a more aggressive mantra with ideas such as a terror-laden conversation between a Person and a Mushroom and Odes to things such as Kitsch Technology and For the Sake of It. This collection is a must-read for any reader interested in experimental poetry.Ralph-Michael Chiaia was born in New York City in 1975.What others say about him and Ten Poems:"He is a trip-hoppy visionary of language." Lo Galluccio, Ibbetson Street Press"Chiaia’s formalistic experiments appeal to our curiosity, but his experiments in conjuring a familiar world in a personal language are compelling. We get both in this nicely produced book from Coatlism Press. The press and Ralph-Michael Chiaia are new to the small press world, and I look forward to more from both."Clarence Wolfshohl"The poems in this slim volume prove that the beat aesthetic is not dead, or a mere remnant of the dim past. I don't subscribe to the term 'experimental' because it implies that the work is an expedient means to an end and does not stand for itself, so to speak. That may be fine for the discipline of science, but it's antithetical when applied to poetry and art in general.With few words Ralph-Michael Chiaia avails essences of places, transforming cities into states of mind and being that manifest themselves in lightning flashes of revelation. Personal memory gives out to a broader, collective phenomenon of mutual recognition of places and things at once strange and eerily familiar. The images and syntax invoke deja vu-like sensations of what it might feel like to be remembering the memories of someone other than oneself.The poet is adept at mixing haiku with spontaneous bop prosody, stark visual illumination with a playful lyrical sense, resulting in effects that are the products of the paralogical discipline exemplary of all fine art. At times an otherworldly light shines through the lines and one can almost see the face of the poet caught in the mesh of time, unconscious of being glimpsed by a future self in anticipation of its emergence from the deep sleep of meditation upon its own reflection in the still waters of what Lorca called "dark sounds."The language in these poems is bold, striking at the core of awareness itself as the phenomenological world unveils its anatomical scaffolding in one sudden illumination after another. In the momentous process of this existential exposition the poet never loses the enthusiasm for sheer play characteristic of all beautiful art. Modernity, in the spectral manifestations of the high-tech trappings amidst which we find ourselves choicelessly embroiled, avails itself in the poems in its tenuous, hallucinatory charms and fragmented concentrations upon the intrepid details in which the daemons of its glory and inescapable doom are to be found, hidden in plain sight in the very places we always expected to find them."Joe La Rosa

A heart-thumping whirlwind of action, suspense & murder that reaches deep into the highest levels of Vatican power & uncovers a demonic scheme to massacre hundreds of thousands of Chinese in an attempt to establish a new Holy Roman Empire on the Chinese mainland in the twenty-first century.

Section I: Irreverent historical retellings. Section II: Relationships. Section III: Fini. True Fiction is about being a person who knows we see through lenses, historical, cultural. And yet, even in fiction, truths emerge. Truths about being human (mainly a woman) and living. I try to tell the truth, but fiction comes out. Or the truth. I don't know. Maybe you will find truths.This chapbook is mainly about women, from multiple angles. It takes a feminist, multicultural perspective that explodes conceptions of women throughout history. It gives voice, irreverently, to women who got ripped off in the history books or the Bible. Or in the culture. It's important and soothing to hear these women to me, and I try to give voice to women who can heal our culture, our understanding, our relationships, our lives, and ourselves . They are my muses and they speak of injustices that I cannot. They tell truths that nonfiction does not. They are whispering, yelling, or comforting us. I hope you find solace in the writing.

One year ago Jason lost a race. Now he is training to run against the same person that beat him. In the mean time, he is spending time with the people he loves, playing tour guide, and dealing with loss.Jason's life goes on after his ruined first date with Wendy. Now he has a new challenge. Beating a runner that got the better of him a year ago. Jason grows closer to Wendy but feels an attraction to a beautiful new neighbor. Can Jason continue his relationship with Wendy? Can he control his hormones? And can he win the grudge match race?

This is a book of poetry about horses. It is a collection of poems that I have taken 14 years to write and now want to share them with you. I have been working with horses for the past 35 years and all of the poetry is based on my experiences with these majestic animals. The horses that I have written about are horses that I have know through my whole life.The fifth of the Wonka stories invites us to join Owner on the awful run up to Christmas. Can she stand it, all the loving and giving and the relentless goodwill. With Wonka to spur her on, maybe she will get a grip.There is Baba to clean up after and the basic daily grind but nothing a little life coaching or tablet or two cannot put right. Whether it's a vision brought on by the ancients or a more modern life coaching one, Owner is poised on the brink of coping with Christmas. Do join us and escape into the hard punching philosophy of Wonka.

This story is about love and affection and how fascinating and boring the world can appear at the same time as we grow. It tells of a Magic Building and how Grandpa made it the center of amusement for all kids. It is an essay about how changes in our environment are inevitable and treasures love for our elders.This is the story of two 12-year-old boys who were best friends growing up on the mean streets of the Kensington section of Philadelphia. It chronicles their friendship and the conflicts that they faced. It also tells the remarkable, untold true story of how Babe Ruth came to their local parish to play in one incredible baseball game. On a September day in 1923, Babe Ruth was whisked away from the Yankees game to play charity baseball to raise money to pay off the debt for their field. That day would forever change the lives of these two friends.Coming of age in the era of prohibition two young boys find themselves facing the many challenges and dangers of the inner-city. Their love of baseball is their guiding light and source of hope. The improbable events that unfolded during Babe Ruth’s appearance at Boger Field have been lost in baseball history. From the moment Babe put on the Ascension of Our Lord Parish uniform and took the field against the Lit Brother’s team baseball folklore was made.

Richard and Rachel stopped getting along months ago, but they continue to spend time together to satisfy the one interest they have in common. When misfortune steals that link away, however, and leaves them stranded on the side of the road eleven miles from home, they must not only figure out what went wrong in their relationship but individually decide whether it's even worth saving."Eleven Miles from Home" is an unflinching story about perception, realization, and the truth behind those relationships we once thought were so great. It's the story of two people who are forced to confront the harsh reality that they've missed the mark, who bare their souls over what they discover about each other and themselves, who question whether their choices are sound or should be avoided.After discovering she had been dating a married man for months and spending the next two years rebounding in a series of bad relational investments, Rachel grabs her Jet Ski and goes to the lake to clear her head, hoping to erase her troubled mind through the whitewash of aquatic adrenaline. Richard, who discovers this woman and her sexy water machine, and who, thanks to his limited exposure to out-of-town trends, has never before seen a Jet Ski in action, insists on invading her world to find out more about this most interesting watercraft of hers, and somehow finds himself not only her new jet skiing pal, but next in line for her damaged heart. And Rachel is fine with the invasion initially, but like her relationships past, the one she forms with Richard exists on fragile ground, and their mutual respect for each other eventually dies.But their passion for jet skiing together endures, so they continue to visit the lake as a couple, in spite of their growing off-water dislike for each other: whatever they have to, to keep their one common interest intact. And they find ways to make it work, until the day that misfortune robs them of their shared love and leaves them stranded eleven miles from home with nothing left in common but a lack of transportation and bad memories. Now, if they are to make it through the night together, they must figure out what went wrong between them and decide individually whether their relationship is even worth saving.

Welcome to Uncharted Courses. This small grouping of my poems represents just a taste of the many roads I have followed and the people, places and things that has touch me. When a writer sets down with pen and paper, they themselves never know what the lines will hold. It is a journey of one, by one who loves the lines of faded blue. A writer or poet is an entertainer, a storyteller and painter.Welcome to Uncharted Courses. This small grouping of my poems represents just a taste of the many roads I have followed and the people, places and things that has touch me. When a writer sets down with pen and paper, they themselves never know what the lines will hold. It is a journey of one, by one who loves the lines of faded blue. A writer or poet is an entertainer, a storyteller and painter. Each canvas is brand new and with our brush of words we paint a picture we hope you can see in your mind as you read along with the strokes of our brush. Uncharted Courses is a small collection of my canvases. They are stroked with the many colors of work, travel, love and dreams. Sail away with me within these lines of my Uncharted Courses.

November 2008 Issue of Arts and Literary Journal The Battered Suitcase; intelligent and imaginative prose, poetry and art that explores the human experience. Edited by Fawn Neun, Maggie Ward, Alice Bigelow, Deb Perry and Apythia Morges. Fiction by Michelle Reale, Karl Koweski and Bronwyn Mauldin. Poetry by Jane Chakravarthy and Jan Melara.The Warrior’s Beckoning is a two-part horror thriller with an allegorical storyline.Connected by a dream, a team of ghost hunters is gathered and sent into a mysterious forest. Once a town, it is now inhabited by only darkness and sorrow.After finding himself at the mercy of the shadow creatures, the team leader is rescued by men he does not know, men who were called by the same dream. But as the ghost hunter plays his camera footage, a priest reads the diary that unleashes the Spirits of Decay. These cloaked figures surround them, their scythes sapping the team of their spiritual energy.Told through a series of diary entries, The Warrior’s Beckoning is an evocative story about the epic cosmic battle between light and dark. The first part of this chilling tale chronicles the awakening of the mysterious forces, while the second part tells of the arrival of the Warrior.A thrilling page-turner filled with unexpected twists and turns, author Patrick Howard’s haunting paranormal narrative will keep you enthralled from the first sentence to the last.

"His life...ended when he was nine and the nuns of St. Louis de France Parochial School were at his bedside to take down his dying words because they'd heard his astonishing revelations of heaven delivered in catechism on no more encouragement than it was his turn to speak...." Unique among Jack Kerouac's novels, Visions of Gerard focuses on the scenes and sensations of childhood—the wisdom, anguish, intensity, innocence, evil, insight, suffering, delight, and shock—as they were revealed in the short tragic-happy life of his saintly brother, Gerard. Set in Kerouac's hometown of Lowell, Massachusetts, it is an unsettling, beautiful, and sad exploration of the meaning and precariousness of existence.

The second installment in Pearl S. Buck’s acclaimed Good Earth trilogy: the powerful story of three brothers whose greed will bring their family to the brink of ruin Sons begins where The Good Earth ended: Revolution is sweeping through China. Wang Lung is on his deathbed in the house of his fathers, and his three sons stand ready to inherit his hard-won estate. One son has taken the family’s wealth for granted and become a landlord; another is a thriving merchant and moneylender; the youngest, an ambitious general, is destined to be a leader in the country. Through all his life’s changes, Wang did not anticipate that each son would hunger to sell his beloved land for maximum profit. At once a tribute to early Chinese fiction, a saga of family dissension, and a depiction of the clashes between old and new, Sons is a vivid and compelling masterwork of fiction.   This ebook features an illustrated biography of Pearl S. Buck including rare images from the author’s estate.

A New York Review Books Original Everything Flows is Vasily Grossman’s final testament, written after the Soviet authorities suppressed his masterpiece, Life and Fate. The main story is simple: released after thirty years in the Soviet camps, Ivan Grigoryevich must struggle to find a place for himself in an unfamiliar world. But in a novel that seeks to take in the whole tragedy of Soviet history, Ivan’s story is only one among many. Thus we also hear about Ivan’s cousin, Nikolay, a scientist who never let his conscience interfere with his career, and Pinegin, the informer who got Ivan sent to the camps. Then a brilliant short play interrupts the narrative: a series of informers steps forward, each making excuses for the inexcusable things that he did—inexcusable and yet, the informers plead, in Stalinist Russia understandable, almost unavoidable. And at the core of the book, we find the story of Anna Sergeyevna, Ivan’s lover, who tells about her eager involvement as an activist in the Terror famine of 1932–33, which led to the deaths of three to five million Ukrainian peasants. Here Everything Flows attains an unbearable lucidity comparable to the last cantos of Dante’s Inferno.

A MYSTERIOUS MAN WITH A STRANGE TALENT... A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN WITH A DARK SECRET... AND A LOVE FATED TO BREAK ALL THE RULES His name was Cyrus Fortune. As enigmatic and elusive as the mysterious forces that had brought him to Richmond, he was secretly desired by a score of women and openly envied by dozens of men. But only the ravishing Julia Drummond ignited his restless soul. She was the beguiling society beauty who had never known the thrill of true passion. A strange and wonderful fate had led him to her door. Now Fortune would win her tender heart. Something about the mesmerizing, black-eyed stranger aroused Julia as no man had ever done. Powerfully drawn to him, she would defy convention and scandalize society by breaking her most sacred vows. But dangerous forces beyond her control soon threatened her newly won happiness.... Lady Luck had smiled on her once. Would she now lose the only man she could ever love -- before they'd fulfilled their rapturous destiny?