The History of Naming Cows by Mitch Spray Published by Hagios Press Reviewed by Brinnameade Smith $17.95 ISBN 978-1-926710-15-0 The History of Naming Cows is one of the quirkiest titles for a poetry book that I’ve come across, but it’s a natural fit. It speaks to the tradition as well as the personal connection of farming and raising cattle on the prairies as found in the poetry. Many of the poems begin in childhood and describe the curiosity, wonder and contentment with farm life as well as bringing new life and brightness to seemingly mundane tasks. The objects and experiences that fascinate a child growing up on a farm aren’t the same as a city kid would have and the seemingly obvious points of interest are only touched on in this collection of poems, while hidden treasures and overlooked curiosities are brought to the forefront, showing a new perspective on prairie life. Some stories are also revisited in other poems placed at a different time where the cares and concerns of childhood are set parallel to those of adult life. The curiosity behind simple everyday tasks has been replaced with a calmness as they become routine. But with age also…

Abstract Love by Bevann Fox Published by Bevann Fox Review by Chris Ewing-Weisz $24.95 978-0-9879287-0-2 Myrtle is beautiful, with a successful career. She has it all – except for love. Multiple marriages to “emotional terrorists” have left her wondering if healthy love can exist for her. After residential school, it seems Myrtle is doomed to what she calls “genocidal love.” “Genocide has my brother,” Myrtle thinks: “[he] walks the streets talking to spirits and gods, picking butts, eating out of garbage cans, asking for change so he can buy glue and sniff the genocidal effects away.” Genocide continually threatens Myrtle, too. Struggling for normalcy, she finally has to go back and fully experience what happened, then tell the truth about it to those who were responsible. That means lodging a legal claim, a process almost as destructive as the original abuse. Myrtle’s mental and emotional equilibrium suffers; relationships spiral into cycles of craziness, and she can hardly function at work. The insanity drags on for years. Abstract Love is a voice from the whirlwind of a profoundly abused person’s mind as she toils toward wholeness and redress. “Your genocidal practice to kill me as an Indian did not work,” she…