Literary

Peach Picks: Literary Recommendations for the Week

by / May. 31, 2017 12am EST

 ON PEACH: 

Delia Rainey’s “When I Think About It, I Reach Up Like I’m About to Wave” was published on Peach last Friday. “There was a time when this wasn’t all mine,” the narrator confesses within the first few lines of the story, as they survey a horse tapestry pinned to an apartment wall. It’s a sentiment that gives the story its somber yet relatable rhythm. Rainey’s prose finds the narrator cataloguing places and possessions that are quietly remarkable and instantly hopeless: the horse tapestry, an infamous truckstop, an art exhibit centered around war crimes. This story feels like a dreary afternoon that builds a brick wall around you without warning during a lost weekday. There’s a bleakness here, but also the timid reassurance of time and experience hopefully carrying us forward toward what must surely be a better version of ourselves.


 IN PRINT: 

someday i’m going to be so so happy ​
by Carmen E. Brady (poetry and visual art)
2fast2house, 96 pages

Carmen E. Brady’s debut full-length collection of poetry, s​omeday i’m going to be so so happy​, is set to be released this week by 2fast2house, the publishing imprint of ​Spy Kids Review​. At the heart of each poem in ​sigtbssh​ is a sense of vague regret and dulled confusion guided by Brady’s characteristic self-deprecating humor. In “social media,” she writes, “Every time I see you I want to die a little because you / always look so cute in a way that is really / you, / And I can’t understand how someone could put together / such a bright idea of themselves and / project it all the time.” Among the poems are dozens of prismatic illustrations that feature Maira Kalman-like self portraits and still lifes alongside handwritten poetry. They’re fun and colorful, with glittery linework that adds movement to the scenes’ stillness. ​sigtbssh ​is a book of pleading and shrugging, trying and failing, and reaching and hesitating. Brady’s ability to combine her voice with her eye allows these scenes from daily life—a lipstick stain on a coffee mug, a bucket of bleach—to appear unbearably poetic.


 IN TOWN: 

A couple weekends ago, writers, artists, and musicians gathered inside Hostel Buffalo-Niagara for a fundraising night sponsored by the University at Buffalo Honors College. The hostel is currently in danger, as the City of Buffalo plans to sell the building in which it is located, and proceeds from the fundraiser were directed toward an initiative for the hostel owners to buy and renovate the building themselves. Included in the night’s roster was a marathon of readings curated by local poet Ruby Anderson, in which writers such as Nathaneal William Stotle, Megan Kemple, Mike Lawler, and others volunteered to read their work—often travel-themed—in support of saving the hostel. Something we have seen time and again is that Buffalo artists are happy to show up when there’s a call to action. Get enough of them in the same place, and not only will the fundraiser be successful, but you’ll overhear dozens of spontaneous conversations about future ideas for collaboration. To help save the city’s hostel, sign the ​Change.org petition​, which is presently only a few hundred signatures south of their goal.


“Peach Picks” is a column of literary news and recommendations written by the editors of ​Peach Mag​,​ ​an online literary magazine based in Buffalo. For inquiries, contact the editors at peachmgzn@gmail.com​. 

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