The Chattahoochee Review – Spring 2005

The spring issue of The Chattahoochee Review, a sleekly designed journal from Georgia Perimeter College, offers an excellent selection of fiction, poetry, nonfiction, book reviews, and art—in addition to a special feature on Brazilian poetry. The four outstanding short stories, two by notables William Gay (lauded by some circles as the next Faulkner) and George Singleton, center on down-on-their-luck characters and American domestic life gone awry. The poetry is equally impressive, in particular Chad Prevost’s stunning “Lyric of the Ever-Expanding Universe”: “You thought the dandelions stood / in one place, but come to find out they were / dancing across the wind like tumbleweeds / wheeling without the thought of gravity, / and what you thought was gravity / is only your body’s leaden weight / pinning down your dandelion soul.” The spring issue of The Chattahoochee Review, a sleekly designed journal from Georgia Perimeter College, offers an excellent selection of fiction, poetry, nonfiction, book reviews, and art—in addition to a special feature on Brazilian poetry. The four outstanding short stories, two by notables William Gay (lauded by some circles as the next Faulkner) and George Singleton, center on down-on-their-luck characters and American domestic life gone awry. The poetry is equally impressive, in particular Chad Prevost’s stunning “Lyric of the Ever-Expanding Universe”: “You thought the dandelions stood / in one place, but come to find out they were / dancing across the wind like tumbleweeds / wheeling without the thought of gravity, / and what you thought was gravity / is only your body’s leaden weight / pinning down your dandelion soul.” The feature on Brazilian poetry begins with an interview with Ferreira Gullar and a selection of his poems, followed by the work of Paulo Henriques Britto and Idra Novey’s three-part “Property”: “My mother wants / a horse ranch, mornings / of mares. Enough land / to disappear on / and still know the gullies.” Claude Wilkinson’s gorgeous eight-page portfolio of oils and watercolors is another highlight, presenting resonant images that complement the tone and themes of the poetry and prose. Definitely a journal worth checking out. [The Chattahoochee Review, 2101 Womack Rd, Dunwoody, GA 30338-4497. Single issue $6. thechattahoocheereview.gpc.edu] —Laura van den Berg