What Folks are Saying about
Southshire Peppper-Pot
Southshire Peppper-Pot
Featuring "Lost Among the Tuna Trees" by Shawn MacKENZIE,
Nominated for a 2008 Spectum Award!
"Southshire Roundtable has given us a tasty literary treat, a rich menu of deliciously seasoned prose and poetry that will satisfy the appetite of all who enjoy a good read. The short stories are delicious – tales inhabited by people we immediately empathize with as well as by unique characters who appeal to our fascination with the strange and mysterious. The essays too are remarkably diverse – nostalgic pieces about local places served side by side with insightful accounts of such faraway locations as the Middle East and Key West. The talented writers represented here are proof positive that literature of the first order is alive and well in our area." - Lea Newman, Bennington, Vermont; Professor Emerita, MCLA and author of Robert Frost: the People, Places and Stories Behind his New England Poetry and Growing Up Italian in Chicago
"Southshire Pepper-Pot is a tasty book, filled with delicious stories to be munched on slowly with a glass of wine. This is just the kind of book I love to discover and savor, with recipes that top off a full-course mean of literary victuals." - Bill Morgan, Beat Chronicler and author of I Celebrate Myself: The Somewhat Private Life of Allen Ginsberg and Howl on Trial: The Battle for Free Expression
"This eclectic collection simmers and sizzles with warmth and wit; consume slowly and with gratitude." - Michael J. Murphy, author of Popsicle Fish: Tales of Fathering and a contributor to Chicken Soup for the Soul.
"These are well-defined recipes, written in a way you don't see anymore. Reminiscent of my French schooling, I could see many of these dishes featured as a special in any fine dining restaurant." - Chef Pierre Labeau, Johnny Seesaw's, Peru, Vermont
"Better than just food for thought, this clever collection actually gives a tasty variety of recipes blended with as clever a collection of stories and even poems. Here's a book bound to whet your appetite for a sequel." - David B. Axelrod, Suffolk County, New York Poet Laureate and author of Deciduous Poems
"Shawn MacKenzie's two entries, Thorn Soup and Lost Among the Tuna Trees, testify to her range: the former is a landmark in anthropomorphism, while the latter expertly combines science fiction and fantasy. Both stories are splendid examples of Shawn's wry, gently satirical work.
Marie White Small contributes two selections as well. Told with the sensory detail and hard-earned wisdom of the best kind of regional fiction, Charting the Lake of the World and They Were the Unwinged Travelers blend nostalgic moods and sober truths.
In Ode to a Hostess Cupcake, Adriana DiGennaro details the impact of a homemade confection. Impressively even for poetry, Ode to a Hostess Cupcake builds to a surprising but apt final line.
My own I'd Have Rescued You Sooner, But Seinfeld Was On is a return to my music-rooted short fiction.
The Day Before the Killing Frost, by Bob Williams, originally appeared in the 1970s. Though clearly reflective of its time, this essay about a changing Vermont in general, and Bennington in particular, rings as painfully true now as when it was first written.
Justine Metzler's Duck's Harbour is a poignant, spare account of sacrifice. Readers who have watched loved ones suffer will particularly connect with this wrenching story.
A deftly told kitchen-sink comedy with a contemporary twist, Jane Chamay's Good Company is perhaps the most food-focused story in the entire anthology.
A second non-fiction piece, A Bittersweet Land by Ed Cyzewski, offers a striking perspective on religious tension. Certain to stir strong emotion, A Bittersweet Land chronicles the fragility of reason in the Middle East conflict.
Also set far from Vermont is K.D. Norris' Dancing With Crawlin' Billy, with the conversational tone and ghostly atmosphere of a classic Weird Tales story.
Like a leisurely breakfast, Bruce Lierman's travelogue, Dutch Mess, is to be savored. Wise and graceful, this piece has much to say about contemporary America.
As you will see, Southshire PepperPot is a veritable stew. With tones ranging from melancholy to biting to whimsical, and settings ranging from a bygone Vermont to an alien planet to the contemporary Middle East, Southshire Pepper-Pot offers a dish for every palate. We hope you enjoy reading these concoctions as much as we enjoyed assembling them." - Stefano Donati, Editor of Southshire Pepper-Pot and contributor to numerous anthologies including Darkness Rising Volume 1 - Night's Soft Pains