ON REVIEWING...& THEN MY LISTS WHICH DELIBERATELY ARE NOT "BEST-OFS..."

So, first, Anonymous recently noted to me how no one seems interested (to date) in picking up his/her/hir chap "identity crisis" for review in Galatea Resurrects (the first listing among review copies here). What does such state of affairs prove about how people choose which books to review? Do people choose to review books primarily based on the identity of the author...and, by implication, not on literary merit?

Then, I recall recently reading on Jessica Smith's blog her concern that she not send out her publication to places where it'll just lie amidst stacks of unread review copies. So this is just to say, too, if you send a review copy to Galatea Resurrects, it will be read by me. Not to say it will be reviewed. But it will be read. O ye, Dear Poem, I am your guaranteed Other...!

And back to Anonymous' point, reading every review copy sent to me -- because the Chatelaine plans to read every poem ever writ -- has the side effect of me reviewing only the books which compel me to review them based on their material (not authorial identity). I enjoy a lot of books, by the way, which I don't necessasrily feel compelled to review -- the choice-making need not have anything to do with literary merit but as to whether there's something I can add to the dialogue provoked by a particular book. In this sense, I can dispute Anonymous' thought that maybe reviews are made based primarily on the identity of the poet.

But Anonymous does raise a good point -- unless publication editors or reviewers read EVERY single review copy sent them, authorial identity may take precedence. It's not a secret that several publications out there just almost automatically recycle review copies to used bookstores or Amazon.com.

Anyhoot, I hope to release the third issue of Galatea Resurrects next week. Meanwhile, here is an update on my recently relished lists:

BOOKS:
BAPTISM OF DESIRE, poems by Louise Erdrich

IN THE WEAVER'S VALLEY, poems by William Allegrezza

THE CITY OF SATISFACTIONS, poems by Daniel Hoffman

MY BOOK, poems by Jim McCrary

HOTTER AND NOW, poems by Jim McCrary

HOLBOX, , poems by Jim McCrary

NEVER WITHOUT ONE, poems by Diane Ward

THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED TO ALL THOSE MEN WHO BETRAYED ME AT ONE POINT OR ANOTHER IN HOPES THEY WILL FALL OFF THEIR MOTORCYCLES AND BREAK THEIR NECKS, poems by Diane Wakoski

UTOPIA TV STORE, poems by Maxine Chernoff

LATE TO WORK, poems by David Tucker

TAMMY GARCIA: FORM WITHOUT BOUNDARIES, monograph on the artist with Introduction by Bruce Bernstein, Preface by John Grimes, and Text by Benjamin Rose

THANK YOU FOR NOT READING, essays by Dubravka Ugresic

AFTER HENRY, essays by Joan Didion

CHASING DREAMTIME, memoir by Neva Sullaway

ONLY IN SANTA FE, collection of newspaper columns by Denise Kusel

THE EDUCATION OF HARRIET HATFIELD, novel by May Sarton

THE POET AND THE DONKEY, novel by May Sarton

CANNERY ROW, novel by John Steinbeck

DEADLY WILL, novel by Marianne Hill


WINES:
1993 Nuit St. Georges Les Cailles, Lechenaut
2005 Blankiet Estate merlot (from barrel)
2005 Blankiet Estate cabernet (from barrel)
2002 Luce Abbey cabernet
2003 Luce Abbey cabernet
2005 Luce Abbey cabernet (from barrel, w/ just French oak & w/ combo French and Hungarian oak)
2003 Peter Michael Ma Belle Fille chardonnay
1990 Dom Pérignon
2000 Comte Lafon Meursault-Perrières
1990 Château d’Yquem
1990 Luciano Sandrone Cannubi Boschiis
1993 Bryant Family
1995 Harlan
1998 Screaming Eagle
2002 Luce Abbey cabernet
1853 Whitwhams Reserve King Pedro V
2003 Jones Family cabernet
2003 Lail cabernet
2003 Dutch Henry merlot
2003 Dutch Henry cabernet
2003 Dutch Henry chardonnay
2001 Sine Qua Non
1998 Oliver's Taranga Shiraz


THE CITY SLICKER'S HARVEST TALLY, to date
35 sprigs of parsley
11 yellow squashes
1 cherry
42 sprigs of basil
2 Santa Rosa plums
13 lemon cucumbers
31 sprigs of mint
3 Japanese eggplants
2 honeydew
2 cantaloupe