Become a Member

Posts by author

Alison Ruth Barry

Alison is originally from London but now delights in calling San Francisco home. Back in the old country, Alison edited a poetry fanzine and promoted a variety of spoken word events. Since then she has collaborated on satirical sketches, short plays and performance art. She writes poetry and creative non-fiction and is currently pursuing a creative writing MFA.
  • Alison Ruth Barry

    Poem of the Week

    This week’s Poem of The Week from the Guardian is The Seasons by Irish poet Derek Mahon. The accompanying article delves richly into Mahon’s craft, while the reader’s comments at the bottom provide a sometimes more abrasive forum for critique.

  • Alison Ruth Barry

    Cities In Dust

    Have you ever been to Detroit? Ever witnessed, first hand, that once great American city in all the facets of its decline? If not, let these beautiful photographs take you on that journey now. If you have, revisit what you…

  • Alison Ruth Barry

    Rewriting – or Righting – History?

    The latest edition of Huckleberry Finn has had THAT word removed. Does such censorship destroy art – or is it long overdue? What happens when one of the greatest novels and one of the most offensive words in American history…

  • ,
    Alison Ruth Barry

    Something Small and Beautiful

    The UK’s Guardian runs a Poem of the Week. This week it’s ‘My Grandmother’s Opal’ by Grevel Lindop. The accompanying article is a thoughtful discussion of the piece and of poetry’s appropriateness as a “memorial genre.” Both poem and article…

  • ,
    Alison Ruth Barry

    The Rumpus Interview With Meredith Maran

    Meredith Maran published her first poem in Highlights For Kids at age six, her first national magazine article at age fifteen, and her first book at age eighteen. In the years that followed she built a house and raised goats…

  • Alison Ruth Barry

    It’s a Fire

    Eugene Marten and his new novel Firework are discussed in this interview with the author. It’s hard to say what is more interesting – the content of Marten’s book or the description of his writer’s life. The latter could be…

  • Alison Ruth Barry

    ‘You Never Told Me He Was That Good’

    September 18th will be the 40th anniversary of Jimi Hendrix’s death, and no doubt we’ll soon be drowning in tributes and reflections. I doubt, however, that many will better this excellent piece by Ed Vulliamy in the Observer. Filled with…

  • Alison Ruth Barry

    Simple Pleasures

    British seaside kitsch has long been one of my favourite little obsessions, and this article in the Guardian contains quite a bit of it. As a Brit it tugged at my heartstrings and will hopefully amuse any reader familiar, or…

  • ,
    Alison Ruth Barry

    Birds on Bookcovers

    Jimmy Chen’s pithy little feature highlights a self-evident truth: there have been a LOT of birds on book covers recently. Chen says he is sick of them, but the visual line-up he provides rather works against his argument. These are…

  • Alison Ruth Barry

    Cassette Tape Revival

    Here’s an article in the LA Times about the revival of the cassette tape. Seems as though cassettes are the new vinyl. Or something. Apparently, the fuss-free cheapness of the cassette as a recording medium is being re-explored by small…