QUARTERLY - Collecting, Preserving, and Celebrating Ohio Literature - Spring 2021 | VOL. 64 NO. 2
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QUARTERLY Spring 2021 | VOL. 64 NO. 2 Collecting, Preserving, and Celebrating Ohio Literature Spring 2021 | 1
Contents
QUARTERLY
SPRING 2021
features BOARD OF TRUSTEES
HONORARY CHAIR
4 The 2021 Ohioana Book Festival: Fran DeWine, Columbus
Celebrating 15 Years! ELECTED
President: John Sullivan, Plain City
6 Festival Memories
Vice-President: Katie Brandt, Columbus
Secretary: Bryan Loar, Columbus
Treasurer: Jay Yurkiw, Columbus
16 An Interview with Tom Batiuk
Gillian Berchowitz, Athens
17 Lillian's Five Years at the Ohioana Daniel M. Best, Columbus
Rudine Sims Bishop, Columbus
Book Festival Helen F. Bolte, Columbus
Flo Cunningham, Stow
18 The Ohio Literary Trail: A Guide Dionne Custer Edwards, Columbus
Lisa Evans, Johnstown
Negesti Kaudo, Columbus
Helen Kirk, Maumee
Books Ellen McDevitt-Stredney, Columbus
Mary Heather Munger, Ph.D., Perrysburg
Louise Musser, Delaware
20 Book List Cynthia Puckett, Columbus
Daniel Shuey, Westerville
David Siders, Cincinnati
Jacquelyn L. Vaughan, Dublin
Betty Weibel, Chagrin Falls
APPOINTED BY THE GOVERNOR OF OHIO
Carol Garner, Mount Vernon
Peter Niehoff, Cincinnati
Brian M. Perera, Columbus
TRUSTEES EMERITUS
Francis Ott Allen, Cincinnati
Ann Bowers, Bowling Green
Christina Butler, Ph.D., Columbus
Robert Webner, Columbus
OHIOANA STAFF
Executive Director..............David Weaver
Office Manager...............Kathryn Powers
Library Specialist............Courtney Brown
Program Coordinator........Morgan Peters
The Ohioana Quarterly (ISSN 0030-1248) is currently
published four times a year by the Ohioana Library
Association, 274 East First Avenue, Suite 300, Columbus,
Ohio 43201. Individual subscriptions to the Ohioana
Quarterly are available through membership in the
Association; $35 of membership dues pays the required
subscription. Single copy $6.50. U.S. postage paid at
Columbus, Ohio. Send address changes to Ohioana
Quarterly, 274 E. First Ave., Suite 300, Columbus, Ohio,
43201. Copyright © 2021 by the Ohioana Library
Association. All rights reserved. Printed by PXPOHIO.
2 | Ohioana Quarterly
From the
Director
Dear Friends,
“It's spring fever. That is what the name of it is. And when you've got it,
you want—oh, you don't quite know what it is you do want, but it just
fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!” – Samuel L. Clemens
(Mark Twain)
Mark Twain was not an Ohioan, but he was certainly familiar with
and popular in Ohio, crisscrossing the state two dozen times during
his remarkable career as America’s favorite humorist and lecturer.
For the Ohioana Library, “spring fever” means one thing for certain: the Ohioana Book Festival,
the state’s largest celebration of Ohio authors and books. As you can see from our cover story,
we’re celebrating a major milestone this year—the festival’s 15th anniversary! After having to
move last year’s festival to August due to the pandemic, we’re happy to say the event is back in its
usual time slot at the end of April. However, like 2020, the festival will again be held virtually so
that we can celebrate safely with everyone.
There’s so much to offer at the festival, we’ve extended it to a record four days this year—from
April 22 through April 25. Nearly 140 Ohio authors and illustrators will be taking part. One of
them, cartoonist Tom Batiuk, has created the poster artwork for our 15th anniversary, which
features Tom’s lovable bookstore owner-turned-author Lillian from his popular Crankshaft
comic strip. I know you’ll enjoy Kathryn Powers’ interview with Tom, and a look back at Lillian’s
book festival adventures. We’re also revisiting festival memories shared by authors, volunteers,
and friends from over the years.
Also in this issue, you’ll find a list of books recently added to our collection. And because summer
is not far off, and it's looking more promising for everyone to be able to again travel, we’re
featuring a review of The Ohio Literary Trail: A Guide, the companion book to Ohioana’s newest
program, introduced last summer. We’re thrilled at the tremendous response it has received, and
hopefully soon, people will be able to hit the road and visit the places
on the trail! On the Cover
Having “spring fever” is definitely better this year than it was a year Cover designed by Kathryn Powers
ago, and I hope your spring will be a healthy and happy one. We invite and adapted from the official 15th
you to join us for all of our 15th anniversary Ohioana Book Festival anniversary Ohioana Book Festival
programs and festivities. Thank you for making it possible. poster art created by Tom Batiuk.
Read the interview with Tom on
page 16.
David Weaver
Executive Director
Spring 2021 | 3
The 2021 Ohioana Book Festival:
Celebrating 15 Years!
by David Weaver
The Ohioana Book Festival is celebrating its 15th
anniversary . . . and we’d love to have you join us for this
special occasion! We’ll be celebrating virtually from
April 22 through April 25.
While we had hoped our anniversary festival would be
an in-person event this year, by going virtual as we did
in 2020, we can continue keeping everyone safe while at
the same time bringing all the things festival-goers love
about our event: a fun-filled weekend featuring panel
discussions, conversations, and readings. There will be
story times and activities for children, and books will be
available to purchase through www.bookloft.com. With
something for every reader, the festival is a book lover’s
dream. And with the virtual format, now everyone can
join in, no matter where they live!
Nearly 140 Ohio authors and illustrators, representing David Catrow, Amanda Flower, Mindy McGinnis, Del Sroufe, and
every genre—from picture books to poetry, from novels Jacqueline Woodson at the 2016 Ohioana Book Festival.
to nonfiction—are taking part in our anniversary event. Photo by Mary Rathke.
Among them are more than a dozen Ohioana Book Award
winners, nearly twenty authors honored on the Choose
to Read Ohio and Floyd’s Pick lists, four winners of the Today, the Ohioana Book Festival is the largest event
Cleveland Arts Prize, a National Book Award winner, in Ohio that celebrates our state’s authors, reaching an
two Pulitzer Prize finalists, and Ohio’s Poet Laureate. audience of avid fans that expands with every passing
We’re excited that, in addition to many popular authors year. And with a new digital viewership that began with
making return visits to the festival, we have more than our first virtual festival events in 2020, we’re thrilled to
thirty authors who are making their first appearance introduce Ohio’s literary talent to readers all over the
with their debut books. It’s always a thrill to introduce world!
readers to the new authors who may soon become
their favorites! No one ever imagined how much the festival would
grow and evolve since that first event in 2007. We’re
The very first Ohioana Book Festival was built around so grateful for the authors, sponsors, donors, partners,
a single book entitled Good Roots: Writers Reflect on staff, and volunteers who have joined us on this journey
Growing Up in Ohio. Ten authors who contributed to that for a decade and a half. We hope you’ll enjoy reading
book came to Columbus for one day in September 2007. some of their favorite festival memories in our special
The original event took place at the renovated Jeffrey anniversary feature on the following pages.
Mining Corporate Center, where the Ohioana Library
collection and offices are located. As the festival grew Most of all, we couldn’t have done it without people like
over the years, it changed venues to accommodate the you who share our love of books and reading. You have
larger author roster and audience: in 2011, it relocated made this 15th anniversary possible. We hope you enjoy
to Fort Hayes Metropolitan Education Center; in 2015, celebrating this milestone with us from the comfort of
it moved to the Sheraton Columbus Hotel at Capital your own home. You can find complete details regarding
Square, where we celebrated the 10th anniversary the 2021 festival schedule and programs by visiting our
Ohioana Book Festival in 2016 (complete with Ohio- website, www.ohioana.org, and also by checking us out
shaped cookies); and in 2019, it arrived at its new home on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. We’ll see you at
at the Columbus Metropolitan Library’s Main Library in the festival!
the heart of downtown.
4 | Ohioana Quarterly
P r e s e n ti n g Spo n s o r s
FESTIVAL partner BOOKSELLER
Sponsors
Spring 2021 | 5
Festival Memories
2007-2020
As we celebrate the Ohioana Book Festival's 15th One of my favorite memories comes from my inaugural
anniversary, let's take a fond look back at past events Ohioana in 2010—right after my first book was
with favorite recollections shared by authors, volunteers, published, No Winners Here Tonight. We crowded into
and friends. the State Library of Ohio building on East First Avenue—
Ohioana’s headquarters—and my moment in the sun
In 2019, the Ohioana Book Festival paired me with came when veteran Columbus Dispatch statehouse
Rutherford B. Hayes High School for an exhilarating reporter Lee Leonard introduced me and I read a
pre-festival school visit. From auditorium sessions selection from the book. Despite the tight quarters that
with hundreds of students to meeting with the Social year, this experience, along with meeting readers and
Justice Book Club, there was a literary magic in motion. other Ohio writers, was a seminal moment that inspired
I watched reluctant readers imagine themselves as me to continue plugging away at my craft.
possible storytellers. I listened to dedicated readers Andrew Welsh-Huggins, author
discuss how we, as authors, and they, as young people,
could make effective change in the stories that are
written. Outreach with youth is integral to the activism I have so many favorite Ohioana Book Festival
I do off the page. The Ohioana Book Festival recognizes memories: The wonderful and stunningly well-organized
the importance and necessity of author/student Ohioana Library team who make me feel like a member
conversations, and I'm so elated they do! of their family. The welcoming and super helpful event
e.E. Charlton-Trujillo, author volunteers. Book lovers with whom I could chat for hours
about the joys of reading. But there’s one memory that
illustrates to me how supportive our community of book
A costumed character signals permission for those lovers is.
encountered to have fun, say silly things, and act goofy.
The youngest children may be scared, and some older Several years ago, after my first Sister Lou Mystery
ones pull my tail, but most people smile warmly. Early novel was published, Mayhem & Mass, I was thrilled and
childhood development studies report the importance honored to participate on a cozy mystery author panel. It
of play, but does it ever end? I love contributing a little was great fun. But then we came to the final question and
foolishness to the festival’s atmosphere, and indulging the moderator asked something like, “Tell us about the
in my moment of anonymous fame. pets in your cozy mystery.” My heart stopped, and when
it restarted, I could hear it without a stethoscope.
When I'm not walking around in a costume, I can
vouch for the Ohioana Book Festival's ability to create The reason I was so nervous to address this question
memorable moments between readers and authors. is that although there’s a cat on the cover of Mayhem &
Usually lacking a gift for two special dates in May—my Mass, the story itself doesn’t have a cat. The moderator
mom's birthday and Mother's Day—I repeatedly found presented the question to each of the first three authors.
something, inscribed on request, in the authors' expo at Then she came to me. I took a breath, looked out into the
the festival. One festival, after buying a gift book in the audience and said, “My friends, I’ve been living a lie.”
same series from a returning author each of the two prior
years, I found the same author back again. She greeted I explained that I’d asked my publisher to remove the cat
me by asking, “How’s your mother?” They had never met from the cover because it’s misleading. But my publisher
her, and I never encountered the author outside these had refused, leaving me with a cat on the cover of a book
annual festivals. The author’s memory and courtesy that didn’t have a cat. After I’d made my confession,
rendered a momentary sense of my mother’s importance members of the audience laughed good-naturedly. To my
in a world which saw little of her in her last years. Such extreme gratitude and relief, they greeted the situation
small kindnesses enhance days and lives. with empathy instead of condemnation.
Brian Stettner, volunteer Patricia Sargeant/Olivia Matthews, author
(Library Mouse and Clifford the Big Red Dog)
6 | Ohioana Quarterly
My first year (2009, I think), I was assigned a spot at Honestly I don't know if I have a favorite memory, I
the signing table right beside R. L. Stine, and I was just love the feel of Ohioana. All my friends are there.
intimidated, to say the least. I mean, this was R. L. I love all of the Ohio festivals, but Ohioana is where I
STINE! He’d sold a kazillion books! And . . . they were absolutely know I will see everyone. It's always a good
really creepy books, you know? time . . . selling books is just a by-blow!
Mindy McGinnis, author
When the festival started, both of us were busy signing
for a while. But at the first break, he immediately looked
over at me, smiled the friendliest smile, stuck out his I've sold hundreds of books at Ohioana, but that's
hand, and said, “Call me Bob.” And I found out—just not why this festival is important to Ohio or to me.
like everyone else who met him that day—that R. L. (er, At Ohioana, I've had the chance to meet writers who
Bob) Stine is one of the nicest people you could ever changed my life for the better, even unexpectedly
encounter. Despite the terrifying books. becoming my best friends and writing partners. I've
also had the chance to talk with hundreds of readers
Also my first year: Becca Dangler, a then-fourth-grader over the years. One particular young reader I’ll always
who is the daughter of OSU employee Doug Dangler, remember was thirteen when I first met her, and I loved
showed up to inform me that she had been assigned as chatting with her every year thereafter. During our last
my author handler. I thanked her for volunteering, but in-person Ohioana Book Festival, she told me she'd
didn’t expect to need much in the way of “handling.” been accepted into a creative writing program and was
Amazingly, though, the rest of the day, anytime I started pursuing her own writing dreams. I watched an awesome
to think, “Wow, I’ve got a lot of people waiting on me girl grow into a bright and focused young woman through
to sign books, but what I really need right now is . . .,” Ohioana. Forming these connections are one of the best
Becca would kind of magically show up and hand me a parts of the writing life and a powerful reminder of why
water bottle—or can of Diet Coke, or extra Post-It notes, it's such a gift to be an author.
or whatever else I’d barely had time to realize I wanted Natalie Richards, author
or needed. It felt like she could read my mind. She got
me to all my panels on time, and scouted out where I
was supposed to be and when, long before I’d had even a I have such fond memories of the 2011 Ohioana Book
second to think about it. To this day, I count her as one Festival at Fort Hayes, my first time as a volunteer. The
of the best “author handlers” I’ve ever worked with. And festival had grown every year since its inception, and
she was like that as a fourth grader! I joked with her that by 2011, we had so many people in the space at Fort
she even had the best name for the job—I said anytime Hayes that we had to turn sideways to squeeze past each
she needed a recommendation, I’d be happy to tell other in the halls. The place was buzzing with energy.
anyone about, “Becca Dangler, Author Wrangler!” It was like going to a rock concert! What a pleasure to
Margaret Peterson Haddix, author be surrounded in that way by authors and illustrators
and people who simply love books. I was honored to
introduce poet Maggie Smith that year. I remember
One memory that stands out for me was the very first watching the crowd beam at Maggie while she read
Ohioana Book Festival I attended. I think it was 2011 or us some lovely poems. It was the first time I'd met a
2012, when it was held at the Fort Hayes Campus. I had published poet, and that simple connection forever
volunteered to help with the SCBWI table and when enriched and expanded my appreciation for poetry. The
my shift was over, I wandered into one of the programs. Ohioana Book Festival is always educational and joyous.
Daniel Kirk and Rae Carson were talking to the group It's one of my favorite annual events.
about living the creative life. I had been writing for years Michelle Gubola, volunteer
and dreaming of publishing, but lately all of my focus
was on publishing and less and less on the actual writing For more festival memories and photos, visit our blog on
craft part. Listening to Daniel and Rae talk about how the Ohioana website.
they spent their days and how they approached their
work was illuminating.
A couple of years later, there I was, on a panel myself,
with two amazing writers who would one day become my
good friends, Natalie Richards and Mindy McGinnis.
Jody Casella, author
Background photo of the 2019
Ohioana Book Festival by Mary Rathke.
Spring 2021 | 7
Festival Authors
FICTION
Tom Batiuk Pete Beatty Matt Betts Tonya Ulynn Brown Nancy Christie
Karin Cecile Nathan Elias Mary Ellis Amanda Flower Jennifer Geiger
Davidson
Steve Goble Gwen Goodkin Eileen Curley Nancy Herriman Leanna Renee
Hammond Hieber
Anna Lee Huber J. E. Irvin Linda Kass John-Michael Lander Theresa E. Liggins
8 | Ohioana Quarterly *Authors are subject to change.
Kylie Logan aka Olivia Matthews Tiffany McDaniel Tonya Mitchell Jess Montgomery
Lucy Ness
Eliot Parker Brian Petkash Michael Prelee Eman Quotah Gregg Sapp
E. F. Schraeder Salvatore Scibona Lucy A. Snyder Alison Stine Dan Stout
Jessica Strawser Don Tassone John A. Vanek Laura Maylene Donna Wyland
Walter
Spring 2021 | 9
NONFICTION
Will Bashor Craig M. Chavis, Jr. Cindy Collins Lyn Ford Carole Genshaft
David Giffels Eliese Colette Megan E. Griffiths Kenn Kaufman Robert Kroeger
Goldbach
Patrick Leber Jacqueline Lipton David Meyers & Elise Denise Monique David H. Mould
Meyers Walker
Norm N. Nite Roger Pickenpaugh Brad Ricca Nita Sweeney & Talzoya
Brenda Knight
10 | Ohioana Quarterly *Authors are subject to change.D. M. Testa Jane Ann Turzillo Jeannie Vanasco Elissa Washuta Betty Weibel
POETRY
Pamela R. Anderson Zoë Brigley Teri Ellen Cross Darren C. Demaree Carmen
Davis Gabriel-Watson
David Lee Garrison Ross Gay Kari Gunter-Seymour Kelly Harris-DeBerry Mabel C. Jones
Kip Knott Paula J. Lambert Charles Malone Philip Metres Kiya Renae
Spring 2021 | 11POETRY (contd.) YOUNG ADULT & MIDDLE GRADE
D E Zuccone Karin Biggs Jenn Bishop Gary Buettner Mary Kay Carson
Sarah Anne Carter Cinda Williams Doug Coates Margaret Peterson Krysten Lindsay
Chima Haddix Hager
Sandra K-Horn Intisar Khanani Sophia R. Klein Jason R. Lady Terri Libenson
Mindy McGinnis Karen Meyer Patricia Miller Bryan Prosek Natalie Richards
12 | Ohioana Quarterly *Authors are subject to change.Maria Jennifer Ann Shore Linda Sohner Andrew Speno R. L. Stine
Romasco-Moore
JUVENILE
Tara Tyler D. W. Vogel Jasmine Warga Jacqueline Woodson Frederick Luis
Aldama
Tim Bowers Erin Alon Brain Tamara Bundy Mark M. Dean Kathy S. Elasky
Rebecca Greenfield J. A. Hall Will Hillenbrand Kate Hoefler Aiko Ikegami
Spring 2021 | 13JUVENILE (contd.)
Scott Longert Mark Miesse Oge Mora Samuel Narh & Nancy Roe Pimm
Freda Narh
Merrill Rainey Cristina Sicard Tricia Springstubb Frank Tupta Thrity Umrigar
Christina Wald Lindsay Ward Katie Weyler &
Carrie Weyler
14 | Ohioana Quarterly *Authors are subject to change.Spring 2021 | 15
An Interview with Tom Batiuk
by Kathryn Powers
Q Can you tell us how you create your comics and
illustrations? Are you a meticulous planner, or do
you let your muse run wild?
A It’s actually both. I’m diligent enough to be a year
ahead on both Funky Winkerbean and Crankshaft,
which allows me to spend a lot of time just letting ideas
roll around in my head until they’re ready to be used.
Q This is not only the 15th anniversary of the
Ohioana Book Festival, but the 5th anniversary of
Lillian being part of it. How did the idea of having Lillian
be a festival author come about?
A I was at the festival and saw an author there with
a themed mystery series, and I thought that might
be fun for Lillian to try. So I had her come to the Ohioana
Book Festival as a fan, return the next year as someone
wanting to know how to get published, and finally return
Tom Batiuk
to the festival as a successfully published author.
The 2021 Ohioana Book Festival poster was designed by Ohioana hosted Tom for a virtual conversation and poster
comic strip creator Tom Batiuk, featuring his Crankshaft unveiling on February 16, 2021, kicking off the book
character Lillian. We spoke with Tom about his creative festival’s 15th anniversary festivities. You can
process and Lillian’s history at the Ohioana Book Festival. view a recording of the event on the Ohioana Library
YouTube channel.
Q What was the inspiration behind your poster
design to commemorate the Ohioana Book
Festival's 15th anniversary?
A In my comic strip Crankshaft, the character Lillian
McKenzie owns a small bookstore. I thought that
the idea of her reading to a group of children was a nice
way to show how reading spans the generations and is a
lifelong pleasure.
Q What inspired you to become an illustrator? Was
there a specific book, author, or artist that sparked
your passion?
A It was my dad reading the Sunday comics in the
newspaper to me when I was young. I could see
that there was magic happening there, and I made up my
mind that I wanted to become a cartoonist and make a
little magic myself.
16 | Ohioana QuarterlySpring 2021 | 17
The Ohio Literary Trail: A Guide
A Review by Morgan Peters, Ohioana Program Coordinator
If you’re a frequent reader of the Ohioana Quarterly, then The Ohio Literary Trail, as well as the Guide, divides
you’re likely more aware of Ohio’s literary significance the state of Ohio into five unique regions, which can be
than most. You probably know about many of the notable called the “Five Ohios:” Northwest, Northeast, Central,
authors and literary locations around the state. Even so, Southwest, and Southeast. The Guide then explores each
if you’ve had the chance to look over the Ohio Literary of these regions in detail, breaking them down further
Trail, which debuted on www.ohioana.org last summer, to explore individual counties. Within each county, the
then you might have found out that locations on the trail are further
there was so much still to discover. divided into subtypes of literary
This is the main goal of the trail: landmarks, historical markers,
to introduce Ohio’s rich literary and festivals. Museums, libraries,
prominence to Ohioans, travelers, and historic homes fall into the
and readers everywhere. category of literary landmarks, while
historical markers are a collection
The year following the trail’s debut of about 1,700 unique plaques that
has been tumultuous and unusual. are a result of a program headed by
The COVID-19 pandemic has put the Ohio History Connection. These
much of our lives on hold, and that markers are more “short stops” on
includes piling into the car for a the trail, located primarily in public
road trip. In that sense, it may have places such as parks and marking
seemed like an inopportune time significant locations or people.
to unveil a program focused on Finally, although the numbered
traveling. Fortunately, the opposite locations on the trail focus on Ohio’s
has been true: the Ohio Literary Trail literary heritage, Weibel takes care
serves as an incredible resource also to mention an annual book
for Ohioans who are looking for an fair or festival from each region,
excursion that doesn’t take them which are ongoing celebrations of
across state lines, allows them to stay the continuously evolving literary
socially distant, and provides them culture of the state.
with something new and valuable
while fostering pride and interest in their home state. This breakdown of landmarks, markers, and festivals
Many of the stops on the trail are outside or viewable makes the Guide incredibly convenient to use—for
from afar, which makes them easy and safe to visit. example, if you find yourself in Lucas County, it’s easy
then to flip the book open to the Northwest section,
Now, a year after the debut of the trail online, author and navigate to Lucas, and discover that you are near the
Ohioana trustee Betty Weibel—the mastermind behind Nancy Drew Collection at the Toledo Lucas County
the Ohio Literary Trail—continues to expand upon the Public Library. From there, you can read more about
original project with a full travel guide titled The Ohio Mildred “Millie” Wirt Benson, who was the original
Literary Trail: A Guide. Using Weibel's own words, Carolyn Keene, author of the wildly popular Nancy Drew
the Guide is described as “a convenient travel guide books. While you page through the Lucas County section,
to introduce you to Ohio’s literary accomplishments you may then be inclined to stop by the historical marker
and encourage further exploration.” The Guide seeks for Toledo’s First High School and Lucas County Public
to expand upon the original map of sixty-one unique Library. If you don’t have time for every stop, there’s no
marked locations with descriptions, details, and need to worry—the Guide includes the full text of every
historical context. And it does just that. marker included on the trail.
18 | Ohioana QuarterlyThe Ohio Literary Trail: A Guide and the entire Ohio
Literary Trail project is a love letter to Ohio and its rich
literary legacy. From small towns on the shores of Lake
Erie, to the busy streets of our largest cities, to the wild
and wonderful parks and reserves around the state, Ohio
is full of beauty and literary greatness. These locations
and authors deserve to be recognized and celebrated,
and the trail delivers on that. The authors and books
mentioned on the trail span time periods, genres, and
topics, ensuring that there is something to interest you
regardless of your literary preferences.
The Ohio Literary Trail shines most brightly when you
learn about a marker or location that exists practically
in your own backyard that you never knew about.
In those moments, there’s magic in opening up the
Guide and reading more about your new discovery. For
longtime residents of Ohio who may feel that they have
seen it all, the Guide can widen their eyes to a wealth of
undiscovered locations. For newer Ohioans, the Guide
is a wonderful companion for unlocking the gems and
secrets of the Buckeye State. Whichever category you fall
into—lifelong Ohioan, Ohio transplant, or visitor—The
Ohio Literary Trail: A Guide should accompany you on
your travels as you explore, learn, and read.
To view the Ohio Literary Trail map with links to literary
landmarks, markers, and festivals, please visit http://
www.ohioana.org/resources/the-ohio-literary-trail/.
Top: Hart Crane Historical Marker. Photo credit: Ohio History
Connection. Middle: Library Room at The Wagnalls Memorial
Library. Photo credit: The Wagnalls Memorial Library. Bottom:
McGuffey House and Historical Marker. Photo Credit: Ohio
History Connection.
Spring 2021 | 19Book List
The following books were added journey, part cultural biography, what we let go of, how we remember
to Ohioana's collection between Mother of Orphans examines a little- others, and ultimately how we’re
December 2020 and March 2021. known piece of this country’s past: remembered. Cohan shares her story
Look for them at your local library interracial families that survived of caring for her father, a man who
or bookstore! and prevailed despite Jim Crow was simultaneously loud, gentle,
laws, including those prohibiting loving, and cruel, and whose brilliant
mixed-race marriage. In lyrical, career as an advertising executive
NONFICTION evocative prose, this extraordinary included creating slogans such as
book ultimately leaves us hopeful “Hey, how ‘bout a nice Hawaiian
Barker, Dedria Humphries. Mother about the world as our children punch?” Wrestling with emotional
of Orphans: The True and Curious might see it. extremes that characterize abusive
Story of Irish Alice, A Colored relationships, Cohan shows how she
Man’s Widow. 2LeafPress/ Brigley, Zoë. Notes from a Swing navigated life with a man who was
The University of Chicago Press State. Parthian Books (Cardigan, at once generous and affectionate,
(Chicago, IL) 2020. PB $18.99. Wales, UK) 2020. PB $11.99. creating magical coat pockets filled
Mother of Orphans is the compelling A timely meditation on America. with chocolate kisses when she was
true story of Alice, an Irish- These creative nonfiction and craft a little girl, yet who was also prone
American woman who defied rigid essays cover the possibilities of girls to searing, vicious remarks like,
social structures to form a family and girlhood, motherhood, violence “You’d make my life easier if you’d
with a black man in Ohio in 1899. at home and abroad, violence against commit suicide.” In this gripping
Alice and her husband had three women, the consolation in writing, memoir, Cohan tells her unique
children together, but after his trauma, and redemption. Other personal story while also weaving
death in 1912, Alice mysteriously topics covered include the writer's in her expertise as a sociologist
surrendered her children to an English family, Halloween in and domestic abuse counselor to
orphanage. One hundred years America, and guns. The essays often address broader questions related
later, her great-grand daughter, use popular and literary culture as to marriage, violence, divorce, only
Dedria Humphries Barker, went in jumping off points: for example, children, intimacy, and loss.
search of the reasons behind this Alun Lewis' love letters, the film
mysterious abandonment, hoping Breakfast at Tiffany's, David Bowie, Grace, Kevin. Cincinnati’s Literary
in the process to resolve aspects of or John Burnside's writings about Heritage: A History for Booklovers.
her own conflicts with American his abusive father. The History Press (Charleston, SC)
racial segregation and conflict. This 2021. PB $21.99.
book is the fruit of Barker’s quest. In Cohan, Deborah J. Welcome to Since its founding in 1788,
it, she turns to memoir, biography, Wherever We Are: A Memoir Cincinnati has treasured books and
historical research, and photographs of Family, Caregiving, and reading. While the early settlers
to unearth the fascinating history Redemption. Rutgers University swapped books with one another, by
of a multiracial community in the Press (New Brunswick, NJ) 2020. the early 1800s, civic leaders were
Ohio River Valley during the early HC $26.95. envisioning the creation of a public
twentieth century. Barker tells this How do you go about caregiving library; in 1814, the Circulating
story from multiple vantage points, for an ill and elderly parent with a Library Society was founded. Other
frequently switching among points lifelong history of abuse and control, libraries followed, as did bookshops
of view to construct a fragmented intertwined with expressions of and stationers. Soon, printing and
and comprehensive perspective of intense love and adoration? How publishing made Cincinnati one
the past intercut with glimpses of do you reconcile the resulting of America's centers for the book
the present. The result is a haunting, ambivalence, fear, and anger? trade. Ault & Wiborg became one of
introspective meditation on race Welcome to Wherever We Are is a the world's largest manufacturers
and family ties. Part personal meditation on what we hold onto, of printing ink. The Strobridge
20 | Ohioana QuarterlyBOOK LIST | NONFICTION
Lithography Company produced of small town lore, like the rooster whatever their levels of expertise
the lion's share of circus and show that paid for his own meals, the or categories of work (fiction,
posters in the Western world. egg laid by an artistic goose, or the nonfiction, or academic). Through
Embracing a city that has welcomed strange story of the Abominable case studies and hypothetical
poets and playwrights, authors and Snowman. The town may only boast examples, Law and Authors
booksellers—including a mobile a population of a few thousand addresses issues of copyright law,
book bus that can pop up anywhere— these days, but they pull out all the including explanations of fair use
author Kevin Grace explores the rich stops each year for the Fourth of and the public domain; trademark
heritage of reading and books July—even attracting national media and branding concerns for those
in Cincinnati. attention. Local author Bob Hines embarking on a publishing career;
takes you on a fascinating tour of laws that impact the ways that
Green, Carrie. Studies of Familiar the town he’s proud to call home. It authors might use social media
Birds. Able Muse Press (San Jose, may be home to the first traffic light, and marketing promotions; and
CA) 2020. PB $19.95. but with Amazing Ashville to lead privacy and defamation questions
Carrie Green's Studies of Familiar you, you’ll want to stop by for much that writers may face. Although the
Birds reflects upon the series of nest- longer than it takes the light book focuses on American law, it
and-egg illustrations that Ohioan to change. highlights key areas where laws in
Virginia Jones saw to completion other countries differ from those in
after her daughter, who had begun Israel, Carly. Seconds and Inches. the United States. Law and Authors
the project, died. The artist's loss Jaded Ibis Press (San Diego, CA) will prepare every writer for the
in the late nineteenth century is 2020. PB $17.99. inevitable and the unexpected.
presented in tandem with the poet’s A child of alcoholics and grandchild
artistic response to the death of of Holocaust survivors, Carly Israel Melina, Lois Muskai. The Grammar
her own father. Other poems draw struggles to conceal her addictions of Untold Stories. Shanti Arts
inspiration from altered vintage and self-hatred—a path that can (Brunswick, ME) 2020. PB $16.95.
photographs in Sara Angelucci's only end in death or sobriety. She Sixteen essays—ranging from lyric
Aviary series, or from firsthand embarks on a journey of healing, but essays to narrative journalism—
observations of birds and humans. faces a new set of challenges when address how we make sense of what
This collection, unique in subject her youngest child develops life- we cannot know, how we make
and sensibility, is a special honoree threatening medical issues. With change in the world, how we heal,
of the 2019 Able Muse Book Award. grace and love, she faces obstacles and how we know when we are
head-on, and along the way, she home. Collectively, these essays
Hines, Bob. Amazing Ashville: The thanks friends, family members, convey the longing for agency and
Most Colorful City in the World. bullies, and unkind strangers. connection, particularly among
Reedy Press (St. Louis, MO) 2020. women. They will resonate with
PB $20.95. Lipton, Jacqueline D. Law and readers of all ages, but perhaps
In the heart of the Buckeye State, Authors: A Legal Handbook for especially with women in the second
nestled in the Teays Valley, lies Writers. University of California half of life, those dealing with aging
one of the most colorful rural Press (Berkeley, CA) 2020. parents, retirement, illness, and
communities in the United States. PB $22.95. accompanying vulnerabilities. Here
In Amazing Ashville, you’ll find a This accessible, reader-friendly readers will find comfort within keen
guide to all the weird and wonderful handbook will be an invaluable reflection upon life's ambiguities.
aspects of this Ohio community resource for authors, agents, and
unlike any other, just waiting for you editors in navigating the legal Miller, Adrienne. In the Land of
to unearth its uncounted mysteries. landscape of the contemporary Men. Ecco (New York, NY) 2020.
Visit one of the best free museums publishing industry. Drawing on HC $28.99.
in the country, Ohio’s Small Town a wealth of experience in legal A naive and idealistic twenty-
Museum, and learn the story behind scholarship and publishing, two-year-old from the Midwest,
its plaque proclaiming its own Jacqueline D. Lipton provides Adrienne Miller got her lucky break
self-reliance. Hear countless tales a useful legal guide for writers when she was hired as an editorial
Spring 2021 | 21BOOK LIST | NONFICTION
assistant at GQ magazine in the on the resilience of the people who awkward the fit or forbidding the
mid-nineties. Even if its sensibilities call Dayton home. This is the city landscape—she was able to turn
were manifestly mid-century—the that brought the world the Wright to our world’s fierce and funny
martinis, powerful male egos, and brothers' invention of flight, along creatures for guidance. “What the
unquestioned authority of kings— with the cash register, the hydraulic peacock can do,” she tells us, “is
GQ still seemed the red-hot center pump, and other technological remind you of a home you will run
of the literary world. It was there innovations, as well as the soaring away from and run back to all your
that Miller began learning how to poetry of Paul Laurence Dunbar life.” The axolotl teaches us to smile,
survive in a man’s world. Three and the comedy of Dave Chappelle. even in the face of unkindness; the
years later, she forged her own With contributions from Dayton touch-me-not plant shows us how
path, becoming the first woman to Mayor Nan Whaley and former Ohio to shake off unwanted advances;
take on the role of literary editor of Governor Bob Taft. the narwhal demonstrates how to
Esquire, home to the male writers survive in hostile environments.
who had defined manhood itself— Mould, David. Postcards from the Even in the strange and the
Hemingway, Mailer, and Carver. Borderlands. Open Books (St. Louis, unlovely, Nezhukumatathil finds
Up against this old world, she MO) 2020. PB $21.95. beauty and kinship. For it is this
would soon discover that it wanted What are borders? Are they simply way with wonder: it requires that
nothing to do with a “mere girl.” But political and geographical, marked we are curious enough to look past
this was also a unique moment in by posts, walls, and fences, or should the distractions in order to fully
history that saw the rise of a new we think of them more broadly? In appreciate the world’s gifts. Warm,
literary movement, as exemplified his third book on travel, history, and lyrical, and gorgeously illustrated by
by McSweeney’s and the work of culture, college professor, historian, Fumi Nakamura, World of Wonders
David Foster Wallace. A decade older and journalist David Mould rambles is a book of sustenance and joy.
than Miller, the mercurial Wallace through a dozen countries in
would become the defining voice of Asia and southern Africa by car, Rice, Daniel, and Brian Zimmerman.
a generation and the fiction writer bus, train, shared taxi, and ferry, A Naturalist’s Guide to the Fishes
she would work with most. He was exploring what borders mean to of Ohio. Ohio Biological Survey
her closest friend, confidant—and their peoples. (Columbus, OH) 2020. PB $30.
antagonist. Their intellectual and A Naturalist’s Guide to the Fishes
artistic exchange grew into a highly Nezhukumatathil, Aimee. of Ohio represents the first
charged professional and personal World of Wonders: In Praise comprehensive treatment of Ohio’s
relationship between the most of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and fish species since M. B. Trautman’s
prominent male writer of the era Other Astonishments. Milkweed 1981 revision of The Fishes of
and a young woman still finding (Minneapolis, MN) 2020. HC $25. Ohio. Illustrated with beautiful
her voice. From beloved, award-winning poet full-color photographs, this guide
Aimee Nezhukumatathil comes presents detailed information for
Miller, Shannon Shelton, ed. The a debut work of nonfiction—a 187 species of native and non-native
Dayton Anthology. Belt Publishing collection of essays about the natural fish, including recent introductions
(Cleveland, OH) 2020. PB $20. world and the way its inhabitants and several extinct or extirpated
The Dayton Anthology, the fifteenth can teach, support, and inspire us. species. Each account offers field
in Belt's City Anthologies series, is As a child, Nezhukumatathil called identification notes, population
a snapshot of a city as it recovers many places home: the grounds of trends, spawning habits, the best
from the twin 2019 crises of a Kansas mental institution, where sites to encounter each species, and
devastating tornadoes and the her Filipina mother was a doctor; distribution maps showing current
mass shooting that took the lives of the open skies and tall mountains and historical collection records.
nine residents. Through essays and of Arizona, where she hiked with Easy-to-read graphics indicate each
poems, contributors reflect on these her Indian father; and the chillier species’ habitat preference and
traumas and the longer-term ills of climes of western New York and vulnerability to extirpation, and the
disinvestment and decay that have Ohio. But no matter where she engaging, informative descriptions
plagued the city for years, as well as was transplanted—no matter how provide interesting facts and useful
22 | Ohioana QuarterlyBOOK LIST | NONFICTION & FICTION
cultural and historical context. This personal correspondence, and man who falls for his ice sculptor
book will be a valuable addition to court transcripts—a treasure trove neighbor to a religious woman
the library of anyone interested in untouched for over eighty years— discovering the pleasures of sex and
the natural history of the Midwest, forms the basis for this book, which smoking pot—and through the depth
and in learning more about Ohio’s traces the careers of Jessie Levy, and nuance with which he taps
diverse, colorful, and unusual Bess Robbins, and the John Dillinger emotion.
aquatic wildlife. gang in detail for the first time.
Boyd, Daniel. The Devil and
Smith, Maggie. Keep Moving: Notes Streak Wilson. Montag Press (San
on Loss, Creativity, and Change. FICTION Francisco, CA) 2020. PB $15.95.
Atria (New York, NY) 2020. HC $24. The kid they called Streak Wilson
When Maggie Smith, the award- Betts, Matt. Red Gear 9 (Odd Men had a way with a gun, and he was
winning author of the viral poem Out #2). Dog Star Books (Lancaster, tired of being treated like a boy. The
“Good Bones,” started writing PA) 2021. PB $16.95. Devil didn’t seem like a bad sort, and
inspirational daily Twitter posts A daring prison break at Alcatraz he offered a deal for Streak to live his
in the wake of her divorce, they Island sets Reeves, a former dreams without losing his soul. With
unexpectedly caught fire. In this Confederate spy, on a path that more money than he could spend
deeply moving book of quotes and can either lead him to freedom or in a lifetime, Streak Wilson found
essays, Smith writes about new back into war. As he and his fellow himself framed as a horse thief,
beginnings as opportunities for escapees struggle to make their way chased by bounty hunters, hounded
transformation. Like kintsugi, the in a frightening new world full of by the Devil . . . And headed for a
Japanese art of mending broken airships, truces, and hordes of living showdown with the deadliest killer
ceramics with gold, Keep Moving dead, he finds the Office of Military in the territory.
celebrates the beauty and strength Operations doggedly pursuing them.
on the other side of loss. This is Reeves manages to stay just ahead of Credico, Michael. Heartland
a book for anyone who has gone his pursuers thanks to his training, Calamitous. Autumn House Press
through a difficult time and is determination, and blind luck. Red (Pittsburgh, PA) 2020. PB $17.95.
wondering: What comes next? Gear 9 picks up mere months after Emerging from deep in America’s
the events of the first book, Odd Men hinterland, Michael Credico’s
Testa, D. M. Defending the Dillinger Out. The airship Polk is still flying, flash fiction portrays an absurdist,
Gang: Jessie Levy and Bess and the OMO is still determined exaggerated, and bizarre vision
Robbins in the Courtroom. Exposit to keep the peace along the West of the Midwest known as the
Books (Jefferson, NC) 2020. PB $25. Coast of the United States. Three of heartland. The stories are clipped
In the early 1930s women practicing their best officers, Cyrus, Bethy, and views into a land filled with slippery
criminal law were often held in the Lucinda, race to stop the convicts confusion and chaos, mythical
same low regard as the clients they before the criminals either disappear creatures, zombies, comic violence,
served. When a corrupt prosecutor into the vast reaches of the two shapeshifters, and startling
was determined to send as many of Americas, or they decide to burn quantities of fish. The characters
the notorious John Dillinger gang everything down. of Heartland Calamitous are trying
to death row as possible, female to sort out where, who, and what
attorneys Jessie Levy and Bess Borgen, Seth. If I Die in Ohio. New they are and how to fit into their
Robbins rose to the challenge. They American Press (Milwaukee, WI) communities and families.
skillfully represented six of the 2019. PB $14.95.
gang members, a number far greater The stories in If I Die in Ohio are, as Ellis, Mary. One for the Road.
than any of their male counterparts. the title suggests, about desire and Severn House (London, England,
And yet, their story of deals gone its bedfellow, regret. Seth Borgen's UK) 2021. HC $28.99.
bad, wrongful convictions, and gift is his ability to deliver surprise, Travel writer Jill Curtis loves her
success against the odds has all both through his impressive range job, but she desperately needs a
but vanished from history. The of premises—from a restless young break if she's to achieve her dream of
recent discovery of interviews, becoming an investigative reporter.
Spring 2021 | 23BOOK LIST | FICTION & POETRY
Sent to Kentucky by her boss to find Nesbit, TaraShea. Beheld. standing in the town's square, one
out why thousands of tourists flock Bloomsbury (New York, NY) 2020. act of vandalism follows another,
to Bourbon Country every year, Jill's HC $28. and Mazie increasingly feels caught
dream seems to be slipping further Ten years after the Mayflower in the middle of the hostilities.
away. After all, nothing interesting pilgrims arrived on rocky, unfamiliar Groups in both towns plot to
ever happens in small town America soil, Plymouth is not the land its disrupt the other's Fourth of July
. . . does it? As she stays at an residents had imagined. Seemingly celebration. On one side, the
estranged relative's B&B, Jill's plan established on a dream of religious schemers include Mazie's brother,
to uncover what makes the state's freedom, in reality the town is led her ex-boyfriend turned drug dealer,
bourbon tours so popular goes awry by fervent Puritans who prohibit and a Methodist minister who's
when she trips over a body at one of the residents from living, trading, running for mayor. On the other,
the distilleries and quickly becomes and worshipping as they choose. Professor Alolo urges his class
a suspect in a brutal murder. Can By the time an unfamiliar ship, to take action to "liberate" Coon
she navigate high-stakes bourbon bearing new colonists, appears on Creekers. Sooner or later, Mazie will
rivalries, centuries-old family feuds, the horizon one summer morning, have to take a side. She just doesn't
and ill-fated romance to catch a Anglican outsiders have had enough. know which she'll choose.
killer and finally land the promotion Beheld is about a murder and a trial,
she craves? and the motivations—personal and
political—that cause people to act in POETRY
McKitrick, Stacy. Finding the unsavory ways. It is also an intimate
Perfect Mate (Bitten by Love, Book portrait of love, motherhood, Abbott, Steve, ed. Common Threads
6). Mythical Press (Dayton, OH) and friendship that asks: Whose 2020. Ohio Poetry Association
2020. PB $13.99. stories get told over time, who gets (Mansfield, OH) 2020. PB $10.
When Perry pledges abstinence believed—and subsequently, who Published annually and edited by
until he meets a Perfect Mate—a gets punished? Steve Abbott, Common Threads is an
rare mortal perfect for a vampire— OPA members-only journal and is
he doesn’t expect to be tested. Sapp, Gregg. Upside Down one of the privileges of membership.
Especially by another vampire. But Independence Day (Holidazed #3). The journal features poetry of OPA
Mandy smells like heaven. Has a sexy Evolved Publishing (Butler, WI) members and contest winners,
British accent. And is the smartest 2020. PB $14.95. such as those who win the Ides of
person he’s met. She’s just so . . . Neighboring small towns Coon March and Ohio High School Poetry
perfect. If he holds on to his fantasy, Creek and Golden Springs, Ohio, contests.
will he lose his chance at love? enter their own little war and may
Mandy hasn’t seen her father in 500 never be the same after the coming Black, Ali. If It Heals At All. Jacar
years, but when he goes missing, she Fourth of July celebration. Coon Press (Durham, NC) 2020. PB $16.
drops everything and heads for the Creek, a conservative, industrial, This collection is searing poetry
States, only to discover that Russian blue-collar town, has seen better that will not allow us to forget the
vampires kidnapped him. She insists days. Golden Springs is home unknown grief buried inside of
on being involved in his rescue to Antaeus College, a private boundless pleasure. If It Heals At All
and suggests she and Perry—who’s institution with a tradition of liberal traces the slim boundaries between
sexy as sin and makes her laugh— politics. No love lost between those life and death, blundered justice,
infiltrate as lovers. As they pretend, two. Mazie Tuttle, a professional dog and the boldness of Black love
she realizes he’s just so . . . perfect. walker, knows both towns well. Born reimagined.
But she’s got a secret that will mean and raised in Coon Creek, she enrolls
her death. Can she trust him not to in the Antaeus College summer Brigley, Zoë. Hand & Skull. Bloodaxe
turn her over to the authorities or literary program being taught by Books (Northumberland, England,
does she keep mum and let him go? the famous radical novelist and pie UK) 2019. PB $10.99.
lover, Roscoe Alolo. As tensions flare Brigley’s third collection, Hand
between the two towns over a statue & Skull, draws on early memories
of Coon Creek's founding father
24 | Ohioana QuarterlyBOOK LIST | POETRY
of the Welsh landscape and the contemporary U.S. neighborhoods; reading of another. Sufficient on
harshness of rural life, as well as her and U.S. and expatriate culture, their own, these books achieve new
later immersion in the American the book considers relationships altitudes when aligned.
landscape and her perception of a between the personal and
sense of hollowness in particular communal, and of history to the Malone, Charles. Working
communities there. Other strands present moment. It aims to provide Hypothesis. Finishing Line Press
include the horror of violence, pleasure to the reader with sound (Georgetown, KY) 2020. PB $19.99.
especially towards women, and sense, color and rhyme, imagery A generous skepticism about the
contrasted with poems which offer and music. nature of knowledge, paired with
comfort by working as beatitudes an abiding care about nature itself,
or commentaries on life as it exists Garrison, David Lee. Light in the undergirds Malone’s frank, witty,
now, seeking a way of being that is River. Dos Madres (Loveland, OH) and deeply searching Working
more beautiful, often in relation to 2020. PB $18. Hypothesis. Child of scientists,
her children. In accessible poems that are much witness to the many ways in which
like stories, David Lee Garrison finds knowledge so often becomes a
Chan, Marianne. All Heathens. ambiguity and mystery beneath means of hiding from the world
Sarabande Books (Louisville, KY) the surface of everyday experience. rather than its means of revelation,
2020. PB $14.95. He rewrites the biblical creation Malone writes poems that take upon
All Heathens is a declaration of myth, positing Dog before Man; he themselves an ancient command,
ownership—of bodies, of histories, of imagines John Keats as a baseball to know thyself, understanding
time. Revisiting Magellan’s voyage player; he watches children play all the while, that such an ideal
around the world, Marianne Chan hide-and-seek and rejoice in finding might not exist. Science and reason
navigates her Filipino heritage by and being found; he ponders the cannot save us from our situation—
grappling with notions of diaspora, epitaphs in an old graveyard; and, he not only the impending doom of
circumnavigation, and discovery. remembers a singer who came in one climate crisis, but the more quietly
Whether rewriting the origin measure too early on the Hallelujah troubled fates of our personal
story of Eve (“I always imagined Chorus. The poet envisions life as lives. But Malone also trusts that
that the serpent had the legs of a a meandering journey through a knowledge begins in wonder, and
seductive woman in black nylons”), summer afternoon by the river— if one can learn to undermine our
or ruminating on what-should- humid and intense, with revelation self-seriousness with serious play,
have-been-said “when the man at everywhere, like leaves and shadows we might move beyond the facts into
the party said he wanted to own a on the water. more startlingly realized realms.
Filipino,” Chan paints wry, witty
renderings of anecdotal and folkloric Grandbois, Peter, James McCorkle, Martinelli, Louis. Dreaming with
histories, while both preserving and and Robert Miltner. Triptych. Open Eyes: Poems for Vincent Van
unveiling a self that dares any other Etruscan Press (Wilkes-Barre, PA) Gogh. Up on Big Rock Poetry Series
to try and claim it. 2020. PB $18. (Rushford, MN) 2020. PB $16.95.
Between two covers are three This poetry collection explores
Diemont, Deborah. The Charmed books, The Three-Legged World by the life and art of Vincent Van
House. Dos Madres (Loveland, OH) Peter Grandbois, In Time by James Gogh. Louis Martinelli's grand
2020. PB $18. McCorkle, and Orpheus & Echo by performance in language guides us
Deborah Diemont’s third collection, Robert Miltner. Of course, books through the psyche of Van Gogh—
The Charmed House, in which converse with other books, and surrounds his sorrow, illuminates
diverse forms—villanelle, triolet, poetry, rippling from unmeasured his achievement, exalts in the
blank verse, nonce forms, and prose sound into rampant forms, is ecstasy of painting he gave the world.
poems—look at the meaning of home, especially polyphonic. Etruscan
as structure and metaphor. With brings these three books together
meditations on twentieth-century because they exerted upon our
paintings by Rufino Tamayo; pre- editors a gravitational pull, causing
Columbian sites; Victorian houses in the shadow of one to fall across the
Spring 2021 | 25BOOK LIST | POETRY, MIDDLE GRADE & YOUNG ADULT
Moore, Miles David. Man on honors courses and pad their college super weapons—and he's working
Terrace with Wine. Kelsay Books applications, Ellie is on a quest to with the person who killed Jake's
(American Fork, UT) 2020. rebuild her reputation and self- uncle all those years ago. When he
PB $18.50. confidence. And nothing is more of reappears on Jake, Cal, and Diane's
Miles David Moore is back with a confidence booster than getting a journey to the ambassadorship, Jake
his best book of poetry yet. Man hot British boyfriend. When Ellie is faced with difficult choices to look
on Terrace with Wine is a dark but meets Will, a gorgeous and charming out for his friends and honor his
always hopeful carnival that juggles Brit, she vows to avoid making the uncle's memory.
both sonnet and emoticon with the same mistakes she did with the last
ease of a poet who has been at it for guy she liked. Which is why she Romasco-Moore, Maria. Some Kind
a long time. This is life in the center strikes up a bargain with Dev, an of Animal. Delacorte Press (New
ring, with all the tenderness and overachieving classmate whom she's York, NY) 2020. HC $18.99.
sting that comes along with it, from never clicked with, but who does Jo lives in the same Appalachian
Godzilla in 3D to a lonely ride on an seem to know a lot about the things town where her mother disappeared
intercity bus, from Elvis in heaven Will is interested in: If he helps her fifteen years ago. Everyone knows
to Hitler in hell. You may not know win over her crush, then she'll help what happened to Jo's mom. She
whether to laugh or cry, but that’s him win over his. But even as Ellie was wild, and bad things happen
precisely the point. Miles Moore is a embarks on a whirlwind romance, to girls like that. Now people are
master, and Man on Terrace will stay she still needs to figure out if this starting to talk about Jo. She's
with you long after the show is over. is actually the answer to all her barely passing her classes and falls
problems . . . and whether the perfect asleep at her desk every day. She's
Paino, Frank. Obscura. Orison Books boyfriend is actually the perfect boy following in her mom's footsteps.
(Asheville, NC) 2020. PB $16. for her. Jo does have a secret. It's not what
In his long-anticipated third poetry people think, though. Not a boy or a
collection, Frank Paino sheds his Prosek, Bryan. The Brighter the drug habit. Jo has a twin sister. Jo's
singular light on the most obscure Stars. Camcat Books (Brentwood, sister is not like most people. She
corners of history and human TN) 2020. HC $24.95. lives in the woods—catches rabbits
nature, assembling a hagiography Jake Saunders became a Legion with her bare hands and eats them
of unorthodox saints. Paino’s soldier to honor the memory of his raw. Night after night, Jo slips out
poems teach us to look deeply at the war hero uncle, who was brutally of her bedroom window and meets
unsettling realities from which we murdered in front of him when he her sister in the trees. And together
instinctually look away—and they was still a young teen. Fast forward they run, fearlessly. The thing is, no
show us the rich rewards of beauty a few years, and Jake and his best one's ever seen Jo's sister. So when
and wisdom we can gain by doing so. friend Cal have been tasked with her twin attacks a boy from town,
escorting Cal's older sister, Diane, everyone assumes that it was Jo.
to become Earth's ambassador on a Which means Jo has to decide—does
MIDDLE GRADE & far-off planet. It's the opportunity of she tell the world about her sister, or
YOUNG ADULT Diane's career, very likely a lifetime does she run?
post. But for Jake, that could mean a
Boyce, Kristy. Hot British lifetime's heartbreak. He has loved
Boyfriend. HarperTeen (New York, Diane since they were kids, and
NY) 2021. PB $11.99. every step closer to that ambassador
After a horrifying public rejection assignment is a step closer to
by her crush, Ellie Nichols does goodbye. But somebody is after more
what any girl would do: she flees than Earth's defense, and Jake, Cal,
the country. To be more precise, and Diane are on a trajectory to
she joins her high school's study crash headlong into that dangerous
abroad trip to England. While most plot. Somebody wants to play Earth
of her classmates are there to take against its most immediate threat,
Craton, and convince both to develop
26 | Ohioana QuarterlyYou can also read
