Books

(Main Street Rag Publishing, 2018). As the title’s reference to The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show suggests, Lisa Vihos’s “Fan Mail from Some Flounder” is a very funny book, but it’s also a very wise and moving book, one that affirms life while acknowledging the inevitability of death, loss, and grief. After reading her fan letters to more than a dozen poets—from Shakespeare to Billy Collins—and to the world, you’ll want to write her a fan letter. — David Jauss, co-author of Strong Measures: Contemporary American Poetry in Traditional Forms [$12 + $3 shipping]

(Kelsay Books, 2017). Lisa Vihos offers new views on fresh subjects. Dealing ably with the grim, she also delivers deadpan whimsey (more difficult) and in this collection mixes laughs with shadows. The poem “Laugh Track of the Dead” is something wholly new, and something no one’s likely to improve upon. — Michael Kriesel [$10 + $3 shipping]

(Finishing Line Press 2012). Lisa Vihos tackles the concerns of a woman in mid-life with wit, humor, and the word-play of a writer who is unafraid to take risks yet is enviably in control. She approaches the inevitable march of time and its attendant complexities with hope and optimism. Underlying all is the belief beautifully articulated in the title poem that “even broken things announce new life.” — Stacey Harwood, editor, Best American Poetry online [$10 + $3 shipping]

(Pebblebrook Press, 2011). The poetry of Lisa Vihos marries intelligence and passion–a rare and valuable combination–as well as elevates speech into song. Memory presides over many of these poems, but the effect is less nostalgia than the transformation of what seemed lost into the permanence of art. Vihos executes demanding forms with the insouciance of a master as she writes of the world with reverence and abiding care. [This book] bodes well for her extended history as a poet. — Philip Dacey [$10 + $3 shipping]

Compiled by Lisa Vihos (HenschelHAUS Publishing, 2018). Van Gogh Dreams is an anthology of poems by thirty-one poets that illuminate the life and art of Vincent van Gogh. Edited by Vihos in homage to her father, the collection presents an exploration of the power of art to inspire new creation. The foreword by art historian and Van Gogh scholar, Judy Sund, adds a contextual layer to this rich array of mainly, but not entirely, ekphrastic poetry. As Van Gogh himself once said, “poetry surrounds us everywhere.” Reading this book will certainly remind you of that truth. [$15 + $3 shipping]

(Water’s Edge Press, 2018). Poems on the topic of aging from the Grand Avenue Poetry Collective, a group of seven Sheboygan, WI area poets, including Vihos, Sylvia Cavanaugh, Nancy Harrison Durdin, Dawn Hogue, Maryann Hurtt, Georgia Ressmeyer, and Marilyn Zelke Windau. [$10 + $3 shipping]