Colorado Review – Spring 2006
Volume 33 Number 1
Spring 2006
Annual
Laura van den Berg
The Colorado Review, a handsome journal from Colorado State University, offers readers a quality selection of poetry and prose in the spring issue, demonstrating both a defined aesthetic and enjoyable diversity. The fiction (which includes a story from Alix Ohlin) features direct, third person narratives and a somber realism—stories that, in one way or another, start by laying a few cards on the table, the one exception being the energetic wordplay of Evan Lavender Smith’s “Based on a True Story.”
The Colorado Review, a handsome journal from Colorado State University, offers readers a quality selection of poetry and prose in the spring issue, demonstrating both a defined aesthetic and enjoyable diversity. The fiction (which includes a story from Alix Ohlin) features direct, third person narratives and a somber realism—stories that, in one way or another, start by laying a few cards on the table, the one exception being the energetic wordplay of Evan Lavender Smith’s “Based on a True Story.” The poetry is more stylistically varied, with an eye towards the abstract. Standouts include Stephanie Matlak’s “Tree in River in House,” Joseph Lease’s “Winter Night,” and Michelle Mitchell-Foust’s “From Sadorus”: “When the wilderness moves / to its other world, the / egg shells will rise up / like the doomed. They will be / the beautiful ones.” Colin Rafferty’s nonfiction piece about being an art museum security guard, “Pictures at an Exhibition,” is another highlight: “Stay in the lines and you’ll never see us. No one ever asks why we walk the halls in our steady gaits, the tap tap tap of shoes on the floor, but the answer is easy. We’re here to keep you away. We’re here to make sure you don’t get too close to what brings you here.” Another treat lies in wait, tucked into the very back of the issue: a wonderful bundle of book reviews—poetry and one story collection. The superb reviews provide a satisfying ending, which, as most writers understand, is no small feat. [www.coloradoreview.com] –Laura van den Berg
