Nina MacLaughlin of The Boston Globe (6-6-21) reviews Matthew W. Miller’s new book of poems, cover-to-cover about the Merrimack River and Lowell: “In his hewn and forceful new collection of poetry, “Tender the River” (Texas Review), Matthew W. Miller makes a coursing book-length portrait of the Merrimack River, its…
Linda Whittenberg first connected with Ireland through her beloved Irish grandfather, Will Shannon, with whom she spent her childhood in the Illinois farmland where she was born. As a Unitarian-Universalist minister in the United States, she served congregations in the West before launching her voice as a poet. During Writers’…
Lockdown Letters & Other Poems By Paul Marion Review by Richard Howe Sixteen months ago life in Lowell proceeded at its typical late winter pace. It was cold and there was a bit of snow but all indications were that 2020 would be a busy year in the local historical…
This week Trasna is pleased to present the work of Theresa Jones, whose writing frequently focuses on place, location and dislocation. We open with her reading of her poem, “Bridget or Pat”, which treats of the challenges of her mother’s identity as an immigrant to the UK, and raises the…
Bob Dylan’s Vocal Chords for Susan O. By David Cappella The speech pathologist sits on the icy aluminum bench beside me, as we watch the hockey game, chilly in the refrigerator cold of the skating rink. Outside squats a New England heat wave, one of those cursed Bermuda highs that…
A painting by Chath pierSath One of our regular contributors, Chath pierSath of Bolton, Mass., who one time lived in Lowell and earned a master’s degree in community social psychology from UMass Lowell, is featured in a review of his latest book, ON EARTH BENEATH SKY, in the South Asia…
Dive Into Matt W. Miller’s New Book of Poems, Tender the River Prize-winning writer Matt W. Miller has a new book of poems in which he drills deeply into the bedrock of the Merrimack River and City-of-Lowell on its banks—as deep as any writer springing from the local watershed…
Ann Lord, a native of Manchester, NH, but a longtime resident of Alaska, recently reviewed Tom Sexton’s Cummiskey Alley: New and Selected Lowell Poems in the Anchorage Daily News. She recently shared the review with us. Here it is: Tom Sexton, a longtime University of Alaska Anchorage professor who retired in…
What better way for Trasna to honor the conclusion of National Poetry Month in the United States–and celebrate the First Anniversary of Trasna–than with the current work of Daniel Wade, a rising star in the world of poetry! An award-winning playwright and a novelist as well, Wade appeared in Trasna…
As Trasna celebrates National Poetry Month, we pause on the singular event of this past week, the guilty verdict in the killing of George Floyd, and reflect on the power of poets to be agents of change. This week, we proudly present the poetry of Dr. Martina McGowan from her debut…