Politically Inspired

Rating:
Summary: A Must Read
Review: Can art be relevant in the post 9/11 era? Can any fiction do justice to these fictional times? Apparently, yes. Michelle Tea captures the surreal emptiness of 9/11 mindless jingoism chillingly. Amanda Eyre Ward carefully portrays the overwhelming power of fear. Otis Haschemeyer writes a chilling story of the Iraq war that none of the imbedded journalists would ever tell. Charles Baxter dissects American culture all too well. And,for comic relief, Mistress Morgana gives a few public figures a much needed spanking.

Even better, this manages to be a great read (I read the whole thing in one night) with well-crafted stories that are better than any Best Of anthology I've seen.

This is art for the times, as someone said below. We need this.

Rating:
Summary: POLITICALLY INSPIRED IS VERY INSPIRING
Review: I'm a big Keith Knight fan so I checked this tome out. Other than disappointment at Keith having only one measley page, I otherwise loved this book. It's pretty good. There's a brilliant piece by my new homie Brian Gage about capitalism being bloodsuckerism to quote the late great Malcolm X. As fiction collections go, this is one of the best I've read.

They got a lot of interesting political twists and dramas, some good comedy to start things off by Ann Ursu. Palestinian dude Nasri Hajjah writes a scary story about a man kills his whole family and becomes a hero for it in an Arabic society. A few misfires like Mistress Morgana offering up some cheap sex trash, not very convincingly IMO. But then there's some great literary offerings by Charles Baxter, Jim Shephard, the editor Stephen Elliott turns in a pretty thoughtful piece and media vixen Kola Boof even turns up with a real gem of a sleeper. (Note--go to the web site and check her picture out, she's fine as hell!). Finally, my summary is pretty obvious. It's a biscuit bad classic for the new days. Str8 up bang'n on the AIGHT tip.

Much props to Anthony Swofford for breaking it down in his story "Freedom Oil" and to Paul LaFarge for keeping it real and DEEP with "Destruction of UR". Flat out good writing, heavy thinking and all for a good cause. The proceeds from the book goes to OXFAM charity. Cool. I highly recommend it--four stars!

I found it inspiring.

Rating:
Summary: A Must Read
Review: It was a quick read, I enjoyed the well known authors, but didn't much care for the unknown ones. Felt like this book was published late, if it was closer to 911 I would have cared more.

Rating:
Summary: The Coolest, Freshest Collection I Have EVER Read!
Review: Wish I had something to say about a flaw in this book but I can't think of any. I never wrote one of these letters so bare with me.

OK.

Stephen Elliott, the kind of teacher one could only dream about if taking any kind of writing course, has got to be the quintessentail California cool guy and arbiter of great "new millinieum" taste to put together a collection like this. It is bar none, the best fiction anthology I have EVER read. OK, I'm only 31, but I do read a lot of anthologies. This one is original, fast paced, original and every single story I read pulled me in and kept me interested til the end.

Off the bat, I can think of Charles Baxter's "Innocent" and "da bomb" and Brian Gage's Vampire story as being the best ones. There is another one too about this guy that killed his whole family in an Arab country and got celebrated for it. Those ones blew me away. This dude F.S. Yu came pretty hard too, although I was at a party recently and someone whispered in my Orson loving ear that F.S. Yu has a seceret identity. Great story, though. But like I was saying I couldn't get enough of this book. Let me get it.

O.K. got it. I liked everything in here. Ann Urso's story was like a little movie skit, really funny. JOan Wilking pissed me off, but hey, that's what a good story does. Peter Rock rocked. David Rees had me laugh'n but not with some serious thoughts. That's what I like aobut this book, they cut out all the b.s. and just let it roll. The story I read when I want a good laugh over and over again is by Mistress Morgana. She tells you how her day went as a dominitrix and if you go to her web page in real life she's a hot woman, so that made me totally believe her story. A pleasant surprise was to see L.A.'s own Ethiopian fatwa writer Kola Boof in the lineup after listening to her radio appearances last year on KPFK Radio and ABC NEWSRADIO. She wrote a tight story about this black girl singer whose boyfriend was cheating on her and got blown up in the WTC. The cracks on President Bush and Clinton are priceless too. I still don't know what the story was about, but out of the women's stories, hers was the best.

This is a cool book. It's spacey and it expects you to expect the unexpected. As a writing student and over all HAM I hope to someday have my name posted in lights with a group as talented and imagination as the old gang here. Top drawer politics. Sexy. Smart. I give it two thumbs up.

Peace

Rating:
Summary: The Coolest, Freshest Collection I Have EVER Read!
Review: Wish I had something to say about a flaw in this book but I can't think of any. I never wrote one of these letters so bare with me.

OK.

Stephen Elliott, the kind of teacher one could only dream about if taking any kind of writing course, has got to be the quintessentail California cool guy and arbiter of great "new millinieum" taste to put together a collection like this. It is bar none, the best fiction anthology I have EVER read. OK, I'm only 31, but I do read a lot of anthologies. This one is original, fast paced, original and every single story I read pulled me in and kept me interested til the end.

Off the bat, I can think of Charles Baxter's "Innocent" and "da bomb" and Brian Gage's Vampire story as being the best ones. There is another one too about this guy that killed his whole family in an Arab country and got celebrated for it. Those ones blew me away. This dude F.S. Yu came pretty hard too, although I was at a party recently and someone whispered in my Orson loving ear that F.S. Yu has a seceret identity. Great story, though. But like I was saying I couldn't get enough of this book. Let me get it.

O.K. got it. I liked everything in here. Ann Urso's story was like a little movie skit, really funny. JOan Wilking pissed me off, but hey, that's what a good story does. Peter Rock rocked. David Rees had me laugh'n but not with some serious thoughts. That's what I like aobut this book, they cut out all the b.s. and just let it roll. The story I read when I want a good laugh over and over again is by Mistress Morgana. She tells you how her day went as a dominitrix and if you go to her web page in real life she's a hot woman, so that made me totally believe her story. A pleasant surprise was to see L.A.'s own Ethiopian fatwa writer Kola Boof in the lineup after listening to her radio appearances last year on KPFK Radio and ABC NEWSRADIO. She wrote a tight story about this black girl singer whose boyfriend was cheating on her and got blown up in the WTC. The cracks on President Bush and Clinton are priceless too. I still don't know what the story was about, but out of the women's stories, hers was the best.

This is a cool book. It's spacey and it expects you to expect the unexpected. As a writing student and over all HAM I hope to someday have my name posted in lights with a group as talented and imagination as the old gang here. Top drawer politics. Sexy. Smart. I give it two thumbs up.

Peace

Rating:
Summary: A collection of voices address a changing world
Review: Writers have been particularly inspired since the events of September 11, 2001, to redefine our sense of vulnerability as Americans. The devastation visited upon us has left irrevocable scars, and it is the artists who give voice to our pain and disillusionment. Many new works have sprung from these endeavors, among them Politically Inspired: Fiction for Our Time, a compilation of short stories, cartoons and illustrations that cover a wide range of responses since that infamous day in our history.

The selections chosen are not meant to address the event specifically, but rather some of the issues that have come from the creative minds of the contributors. Editor Stephen Elliott has gathered the perfect mix: stories, illustrations, cartoons and poetry, albeit often tongue-in-cheek. Politically Inspired gives voice to some of the most imaginative writers today.
I haven't been a great fan of short stories, preferring longer works, except when the occasional book stands out and begs recognition. This compilation is such an entertaining and seamless collection that I find myself unwilling to reach the end; I have been well entertained and challenged by these authors, privileged to read their contributions about the changing face of American life.

From the first story by Anne Ursu, "The President's New Clothes", to Brian Gage's "The Vampires of Draconian Hill", I have experienced a gamut of emotions. Politically Inspired is successful, in my view, because of the innovative approaches of the authors and the wide range of characters in the selections. Not only do I recommend this volume of cutting-edge fiction, but suggest Politically Inspired: Fiction for Our Time as a thoughtful gift for anyone who enjoys exceptional work, written with the best of intentions. Luan Gaines/ 2003.