Halloween: New Poems--Al Sarrantonio (ed.)
Not as dreadful as one might expect of a collection of poems written largely by prose artists for an occasion. Occasional poems are often not up to par, and so that should not come as a surprise when reading through many of these. Some are dreadful, cynical, foul-mouthed, and written merely to get a rise out of the reader, but come off deader than their subject matters. However, some are surprisingly good and surprisingly powerful. from Beggar's Night Gary A. Braunbeck and Lucy A. Snyder But half past nine, flashlight batteries die, buzzing streetlamps flicker to silent black as scudding clouds blot the gibbous moon, manly hearts jump as small sweaty fingers impatiently twist free from daddies' hands. That captures a moment perfectly. Tom Disch delivers two wonderful poems, as in this excerpt Another Horror Flick from DeSica Thomas Disch It's odd how the undead seem unaware of their altered social status. The still struggle with their ties in the mo...