The Muse Finally Gets Back to Work

I was elated to be named the 2025 Muse of The Writers Place. Getting organized, however, took me a bit longer.

On April 10, 2025, I was officially named the 2025 Muse of The Writers Place here in Kansas City. In the meantime, I’ve had many extra duties. I apologize for taking my time to get back to you, but I’m delighted to share some favorite newer books.

First up is my friend and former coworker, Stephen Roth, with his second fast-paced, zany, but also scary redneck novel. He will be reading an excerpt from his book at The Writers Place this coming Friday, October 17, starting at 7:00 p.m. at Nonprofit Village, 31 West 31st Street.

An American Gig is the second novel by Roth that I’ve had the privilege to preview and advertise. It will keep you on the edge of your seat with his mix of fear and hilarity.

Here is the short review I posted on Goodreads. I hope you’ll pick up Roth’s book for yourself or as a gift for friends.

“At a time when Americans seem more divided than ever, bringing together people of different backgrounds and beliefs could be the only way to unite our country.

It might also be a really bad idea.

An American Gig is a bitingly humorous tale of three middle-aged buddies who escape their conventional lives in suburban Charlotte by taking their garage band on a week-long tour, culminating with a wedding party in Miami. When they reach the small Georgia town of LaFarge, however, the three friends encounter the IHOP Five, a cadre of retirees who, fueled by cable news conspiracies and artery-busting breakfasts, are ready to fight for the soul of the country. The collision between these two distinct bands of people leads to a wild drama filled with firearms, forbidden love, and fierce debates about, among other things, the cultural merit of psychedelic rock.

Timely and satirical, An American Gig captures the anger of today’s generational and political divisions while exploring whether it is still possible for people who have opposing views to find a little bit of common ground.”

I met poet Rick Christiansen about two years ago, first on Zoom poetry readings, and was impressed by his writing as well as by what a good friend he is to other writers. I now run into him regularly at The Writers Place events.

Bone Fragments is a stunning collection. This is the blurb I wrote for it:

Whether or not we know if Christiansen’s poems tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth is immaterial. He bares the emotional truth without flinching. The title, Bone Fragments, warns us we will get pricked and scarred. Yet, if we can learn to face down life, we come out the better for it. Hence, a boy of fourteen admits, “I stopped your swinging / stinging slap…./ I dropped your hand./ I was not your sin eater….” In adulthood he can add, “We spend the first half of our lives accumulating…./ The debt will be repaid./ I will pay my debt with words….” Readers, please open your hands and receive his gifts.

I’ve been an Anne Tyler fan for decades. This new novel is shorter than most, not quite as much emotional punch as some of her works, but I think you’ll enjoy a break from the on the edge of your seat selections I’m showing off this month.

Many seemingly bright adults don’t grasp what they want out of life. I’m grateful to have more self-understanding, perhaps because I am a writer. I was trying to control the book’s characters as they manoeuvred the tricky land mine of a family wedding. An added bonus for me was visiting the part of the country where I grew up and being introduced to a sweet cat in need of a home.

A poet myself, I attend a lot of poetry readings and was delighted to purchase James E. Cherry’s book at The Writers Place, here in Kansas City.

Just a few minutes into Cherry’s reading told me he was my sort of poet.

I can’t say that my trials to gain equal rights and pay for women have been nearly as frightening as what the African-American population confronts, but I had enough anger and fear to become a champion for my Black friends and coworkers. As a pioneer coed at The University of Virginia in 1970, shy Alarie learned she had to stand up for herself.

James Cherry wants to make sure he gives a voice and living memory to the Black men killed without a trial at the hands of police or of mobs. Cherry is one of many writers making sure the world will not forget them.

You may find it difficult to read these poems, but I see them as eulogies. He blends warmth and even humor into his book to give us some breathing room. Cherry also softens the horror of murder poems by including a first poem and last poem from authors who thanked him for leading them through their own writing journeys. Wanda Coleman added a note to her new poem, “Cherry, Cherry:”

Dear Mr. James, This is the first poem I’ve written in a year since my world fell away. The credit is all yours. Thank you.

Cherry also balances the pain of violence with lighter moments. In “After the Storm,” he and a red-tailed hawk share a moment of communion:

“… a feather drifts,

my outstretched hands
a hallelujah to receive it…”

Cherry goes another step farther in balancing the poems about violence and mayhem with a marvelously amusing poem, “I Want a UFO.”

“I want a UFO
to crash land in my backyard
at 3 o’clock
in the morning.”

(You’ll have to buy his book to see for yourself where this poem leads.)

Most of you who read this book will recognize the many names that Cherry wants you to keep alive. These poems are not easy to read, but essential to waking up those who need to be WOKE. For starters, it’s painful to be reminded of all those killed without any trial, like Trayvon, only 17 years old, like “A Survey of American history in 7 Minutes & 46 Seconds (after George Floyd)”, and “I Can’t Breathe (for Eric Gardner)” with its powerful ending:

“…I have learned
from its austere lessons that eternity exists
between inhaling and the act of letting go.”

These poems of murder and hatred are too potent to spoil them with long quotations.
I urge you to read this book yourself.

Until the next time we chat, please take some reading breaks with a cup of tea or glass of wine and let go of some of the tension we’ve been facing this year.

Happy Autumn!