Delmarva Review

Volume 12

By

Published November 2019

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Welcome to the twelfth annual edition of the Delmarva Review, our current contribution to discovering the best of new literary work. Our editors selected the original prose and poetry of fifty-three authors from thousands of submissions. Individually and collectively, the writing in this volume touches us as human beings. We can also enjoy the authors’ craft and unique voice in the telling of stories and poetry.

Our editors selected 72 poems, 10 short stories, and nine nonfiction essays. We also reviewed six recent books of special interest, by regional writers. In all, the authors come from 17 states, the District of Columbia, and four other countries.

The cover photograph, “Rough Water,” by contributing photographer Jay P. Fleming, perfectly embodies the themes from this year’s selections. Jay’s photograph captures the feeling of nature’s power and passion, which is expressed throughout this year’s writing.

Contributors

What's Inside

Interview with Holly Karapetkova on Delmarva Today: Writer’s Edition

By

Holly Karapetkova

DelmarvaPublic Radio's weekly program, Delmarva Today, is hosted by Delmarva Review's very own Fiction Editor, Hal Wilson. In Writer's Edition #73, Hal interviewed Holly Karapetkova, whose poetry has appeared in Delmarva Review. Her writings are broad-ranging and unveil the deep wounds left by our history of racism, slavery, and environmental degradation. In sad recognition of the 400 year anniversary last month of the introduction of slavery into the colonies, our conversation will focus primarily on Holly’s poems on slavery published in volume 11 of the Delmarva Review. It was in August 1619, that a pirate ship dropped anchor off Jamestown, Va. 20 to 30 slaves were offloaded and sold to the colonists. This was only 12 years after the founding of the colony and one year before the Puritans landed at Plymouth Rock. We forget that it was also 157 years before the declaration of independence. 400 years ago last month, at colonial Jamestown slavery was woven into the very fabric of our country. Holly’s poems capture that ingrained nature of racism we still experience today.

Continuing the theme of exile and separation, we also discuss a number of her poems on immigration.

Holly’s poetry, prose, and translations have appeared widely in print and online in places such as Alaska Quarterly Review, The Southern Review, Prairie Schooner, Poetry Northwest, The Nashville Review, and Delmarva Review. Her books include Words We Might One Day Say, winner of the 2010 Washington Writers’ Publishing House Poetry Award, and Towline, winner of the 2016 Vern Rutsala Poetry Contest from Cloudbank Books. In addition to her poetry and translations, Holly has written more than 20 books for children. She teaches in the Department of Literature and Languages at Marymount University.

Click below to tune in. This is a fascinating and timely discussion.

 

 

Pushcart-nominated “Epithalmion” by Daisy Bassen

By

D Bassen
D Bassen

Daisy Bassen

EPITHALMION

Excerpt from Delmarva Review Volume 11. 

This will be easier than believing every appled fall
The bulbs we plant, without benefit of camphor

Or invocations against squirrels, will survive
Smothering and come the April muds

Turn a scarlet cheek to their betrayers. This will be
Simpler than knowing the low moon of winter

Isn’t butterfly-pinned in the cherry dark,
Stuffed in the line of bare maples near the seminary.

There is no Cadillac shark-finned enough for us
To get to it, and even our improved teeth

Are not so sharp to chew a skinny slice.
This is not so hard as moving one plastic rook

From his acre of cardboard light, the wrist-flick dunk
Of a tea bag, one breath in a long night of dreamless sleep.

Take one stop-action step, one footfall from dim
To stone-bleached glare, and we will make

A new earth around us, air leaping like a strong salmon,
The palm’s slap..! Then the sun will honey-suckle us,

Newborns going pink.

Pushcart-nominated “Autumn Sestina” by Adam Tamashasky

By

Adam Tamashasky
Adam Tamashasky

Adam Tamashasky

AUTUMN SESTINA

Excerpt from Delmarva Review Volume 11. 

In the minutes before bedtime, evening’s gathering
the last scraps of light to her orange
sky. My daughter runs to another tree and leaves
the last one to dim. We always end
our days here on this corner lot lost
behind a phalanx of trees, so it’s here shadows first fall.

Which is not to say this foreshadows her first fall,
even if in the dusk the portents are gathering.
I’m striving to be a parent on whom nothing is lost,
not even the way the dying sun fades her face to orange,
not even my desire to tell that there’s an end
for all of us as final as for her leaves

that dissolve to crackles beneath her as she leaves
for another tree. Yes, even that tree has a fall
in store, daughter. And that’s okaythat we end.
But now’s for laughing, for the smell of autumn grass, for gathering
the fallen tears of the trees in handfuls of orange
to see if holding on enough keeps things from getting lost.

You’ll be lost.
This leaves
me standing in orange
in the fall
gathering
for an end

that should follow my own end.
Remember, when mine comes, you’re not lost,
though, from time to time, in a gathering
dark you may hear a scuff of leaves
and turn, expecting the fall
to cast back your father in orange

light, orange such as you remember orange
from a childhood you see now doesn’t end,
the way that falling leaves always fall
in a memory.
— I’m sorry. I’m lost.
Carrying on this way, as I do, leaves
me overlooking the dark’s been gathering.

Let’s go, now. Leaves, stay lost.
The sky’s orange has fallen.
Our gathering’s at an end.

Pushcart-nominated “Responsibility ” by Holly Karapetkova

By

Holly Karapetkova
Holly Karapetkova

Holly Karapetkova

RESPONSIBILITY

Excerpt from Delmarva Review Volume 11. Adapted for podcast production by Delmarva Public Radio, Writer's Edition. 

“When the kitchen breakfast is over, and the cook has put all things in their proper places, the mistress should go in to give her orders… The mistress must tax her own memory with all this: we have no right to expect slaves or hired servants to be more attentive to our interest than we ourselves are.”
-Mary Randolph, Virginia Housewife;
Or, Methodical Cook, 1828

With one hand                                       I serve teacakes on
the blue                                                    India china,
with the other                                        I wipe mosquitoes
sweating                                                   from my neck.

With one voice                                       I order French
tureens from Calder’s                          & Co.,
with another                                           I order the cook
not to burn                                             the gravy.

The hush of                                            what is beneath the
damask                                                     tablecloth
at night                                                     grows knives.

With one mouth                                   I smile at
the good doctor with                           the other I grit
my teeth                                                  watching dark eyes
always                                                      watching me.

They know what moves                     in shadows
refuse to polish                                     the silver
for love of                                               tarnish. They know
the other names                                    for everything names
they flash                                                like knives
when no one is around                      looking.

Pushcart-nominated “Words of My Father/ Palabras de Mi Padre ” by Alejandro Pérez

By

Alejandro Pérez
Alejandro Pérez

Alejandro Pérez

WORDS OF MY FATHER/
PALABRAS DE MI PADRE

Excerpt from Delmarva Review Volume 11. 

Always say hello, even if the others do not say hello back.
We are Latinos, and Latinos always say hello.

When you shake a hand, shake it firmly, and look a person in the eyes. Never look away. Character goes a long way in life. And we aren’t born with character. We build it.
Character is a house of hay that becomes sturdy with time.

Never try to eat a mango without getting your hands dirty. Let the juice ooze onto your fingers, let your fingers become sticky. When you’re finished eating it, you can wash your hands. Remember, any mess, no matter how big, can always be cleaned up.

When you play soccer, always be the best player on the field. And be a little selfish. You pass the ball too much to your teammates, and assists, they don’t get you anywhere in life. People will only remember you if you score all the goals.

Know when a dream is worth chasing forever and when it should be abandoned to go off in pursuit of another.
The same goes for women. When you love a woman, if your heart begs to see her whenever she is gone, never let her go.
If you’re only half sure of your love, then you should walk away.

If you ever have a problem, come to me and ask me for advice. But most likely, I won’t give you an answer. I’ll just sit down beside you and we’ll both close our eyes and pray to God for guidance because two prayers are better than one.

For anything good in life, you must wait. You cannot make guacamole with a green avocado because it will taste bitter.
You must wait for the avocado to ripen and turn black.

You need to remember all these things, mi’jo. You need to remember all these things. But the most important thing you should remember is that you are Latino. That means you should always say hello, even if the others do not say hello back,
because we are Latinos, and Latinos always say hello.

Volume 11

By

Published November 2018

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With humble deference to the great literature of the ages, this collection of poems, short stories, and creative nonfiction is proof that all stories have not already been told. Here, each writer gives us an original, new voice. The creative pen endures. Welcome to the eleventh annual Delmarva Review, a literary journal publishing exceptional new writing.

Our editors selected the work of 45 authors that stood out from thousands of submissions. Enclosed are 57 poems, 10 short stories, 11 nonfiction and four micro nonfiction selections. We also reviewed five recent books by regional writers. In all, the authors come from 19 states and two other countries.

A common theme emerged from this year’s writing: the discovery or realization of individuality. Often during difficult times, adversity leaves its impression on one’s identity; it shapes us. It can also be celebrated. Individuality and creativity are inseparable.

Volume 11 is available in print and digital editions worldwide from major online booksellers as well as regional libraries and bookstores on the Delmarva Peninsula.

Contributors

What's Inside

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