Publication date: June 23, 2019, the one-year anniversary of Donald Hall’s passing.
Editor Cynthia Brackett-Vincent.
Introductory tribute by Wesley McNair, former Poet Laureate of Maine.
Cover photo of Hall by Steven Ratiner.
10% of proceeds to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society to honor Hall’s wife Jane Kenyon.
Sherry Barker Abaldo, Mary Anker, L.R. Berger, Edward Bruce Bynum, David Cappella, Jenny Doughty, Max Roland Ekstrom, Matt Forrest Esenwine, Elizabeth Brule’ Farrell, Monica Flegg, James Fowler, David Giannini, Patricia Gomes, Kathleen McKinley Harris, Scott T. Hutchison, Elizabeth Knies, Tricia Knoll, Katherine Leigh, Jim Mello, Mark Melnicove, Andrew Periale, Dawn Potter, Kyle Potvin, Jessica Purdy, Gary Rainford, Steven Ratiner, Dave Read, Russell Rowland, Clemens Carl Schoenebeck, John Surowiecki, Wally Swist, Jeri Theriault, Irene Willis, Warren Woessner, Jane Yolen.
Cynthia Brackett Vincent writes in her preface to Except for Love, a tribute to the late, acclaimed poet Donald Hall, that Hall had an undying love for so many things, among them, Jane Kenyon, baseball, and New Hampshire (with all its warts and beauty). She speaks of his amorous reverence for the past, present, and the future, or, as Longfellow wrote in his poem, “A Psalm of Life”: “Still achieving, still pursuing,/Learn to labor and to wait.” As we all know, love is infectious, and Hall’s poetry and persona have touched so many poets and readers alike. Through their poetry, the contributors to this stunning anthology show their love for the poet and the man.
Hall gives gravitas to the most arcane rituals of the everyday, and so do the poets here. L.R. Berger writes in the poem, “First Acts”: “Filling the teapot at the tap,/turning on the burner—//praise be for the first acts/requiring no imagination,/no choices of consequence.//You can be half asleep/and already a success at life,//draw encouragement/mastering the rituals of morning—.” I think Berger has raised my first pot of morning coffee to the high holy!
The poems in this collection celebrate the primal, the unaffected beauty of the world. They celebrate nature, and all the poems bloom like a flower, enriched by metaphor. The poems have so much to say and with originality. You will learn to say, “I love you like an apple,” the title of one poem here by Jenny Doughty. On these pages, a rose can be a totem for where you have been and where you are now.
The sensibility of Hall is deeply embedded in this collection, and continues the tradition of highly-crafted work for which Encircle Publications is known.
—Doug Holder/Founder, Ibbetson Street Press/Lecturer in Creative Writing, Endicott College
Rating
There’s nothing better than a great fiction read that gets you so caught up in the mystery you forget the day you are living in! As a True crime writer myself, it’s always most impressive to see a mystery fiction writer get the details done correctly! Don’t miss this book! Alan R. Warren Best-Selling True Crime Author House of Mystery Radio Show on NBC
Langdon owns a mystery book store, but the pandemic is in full swing and the Governor has issued mandates and lockdowns making Langdon a homebody working around the house and getting closer to his wife. Besides, his PI business has also shut down since people are staying in their own homes. But then everything is opened again, but there are still mandates for masks from the governor. As Langdon’s book store opens, so does his PI business. He first gets a husband who is certain his wife was kidnapped and wants Langdon to find her. But there was something that just didn’t sit right with Langdon even though he agreed to check the case out. Maybe she just ran away! Then there is the woman who comes to him to investigate and find proof that her former boss (who fired her) not only sexually harassed her but he did it to other women. And to top it all of, a 4 year old boy is kidnapped and and the group who kidnapped him said they would kill the boy if the governor didn’t lift the mask mandate. Hit with these three cases at once is a burden to try and solve but our hero, Langdon, his wife and his friends go about helping him solve the 3 very twisted cases. Can they even be related? Will Langdon and crew be able to solve these mysteries? Will they be able to save the little 4 year old in time? There is a little too much when we get to read Langdon’s relationship with his wife, it sort of takes away from the main story line. There is also a political slant to the story. But the author writes well and everything flowed. I received an ARC of this book but the opinions stated here are strictly my own.
The question of masking has been a problem since the first wave of the Pandemic has eased. But one man in Maine has threatened to kill a 4 year old boy he has abducted if masking requirements are not eased. Then there’s the problem of a missing wife. Was she also kidnapped? And the woman who claims sexual harassment from a shady employer. So many problems and so little time to resolve them all. An enjoyable book and wonderful characters. I received an ARC for free and this is my honest review. Highly Recommended.
I found the book to be a bit choppy, jumping rapidly between characters. I did not feel it necessary to have the main character constantly having sex with his wife. Did not add to the story at all. I also felt the book was politically one-sided. People that believe in the vaccine and masking are the good guys and those that don’t are the bad guys. I don’t believe either group is bad. Everyone has the right to choose and should not be forced or demonized. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
The novel occurs in Brunswick, Maine at the height of the Covid 19 pandemic (The Angst) when private investigators, Goff Langdon and his wife, are hired to find a kidnapped four-year-old boy. The kidnapper sends a video to a TV station and threatens to kill the boy by midnight on Halloween if the governor of Maine doesn’t lift restrictions on businesses and masking. Langdon has eight days to solve the mystery. This book has a great list of characters, and the plot is well developed up to the surprising and thrilling ending.
A fun mystery but not compelling. A good one to read when you know you cant finish in one sitting. Good characters to love and love to hate. A few twists to keep you on your toes. Worth the read. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
