Publisher's Synopsis
This issue includes an interview with Jim Cox, who has been editing the "Midwest Book Review" for over four decades, publishing thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of book reviews, with a focus on books from small presses that typically struggle with finding interested reviewers. Jim opens up about the realities of making a living from operating a review publication. His insight is essential to any author interested in self-promotion, and who is interested in how the review process looks from the other perspective. The "Introduction" features an aside from the Editor on the plague plagiarism is on American culture and society. The Editor also reviews dozens of new scholarly book releases. A critical essay by Swan Kim (Assistant Professor of English at Bronx Community College) analyzes Chinese female identity in Haling Nieh's Mulberry and Peach. E. L. Risden (Professor of English at St. Norbert College) contributed a unique blend of brisk stories and poetic interludes. Two of PLJ's returning poets are once again featured, Louis Gallo and Howard Winn (Professor of English at SUNY), as well as some other great poets, such as Kevin Casey, S. R. Graham, Daniel Nemo, Rikki Santer, and John Zedolik.