Tommy wyatt blake, Chris Campbell, Émilie Galindo
Let me tell you about three books I love by tommy wyatt blake, Chris Campbell, & Émilie Galindo.
The reviewer: Rachel Turney is a former art reviewer for New City Magazine. She is currently the writer in residence at NKollectiv and hosts the Trident Women’s Writing Group. Rachel is a poetry mentor with AWP. She runs Poetry (in Brief), an online reading series and magazine. She is a staff writer for Bareback Magazine and a poetry reader for The Los Angeles Review. She is the author of two books: Record Player Life (the b-side) and Retired Wannabe Club Kid. Sign up for her newsletter and learn more on the website.
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Mutually Assured Destruction by tommy wyatt blake
Ethel Zine and Micro Press
tommy is a clever writer. He is always up to something new and visually interesting. This collection crossed with popular media, particularly movies, is another great example of his strengths. tommy also creates unusual and interesting word combinations. Because I can’t display some of the visual pieces for you here properly, I will instead share a few lines that show how clever and creative tommy is as a linguistic artist.
“...spackling impression of mutually assured destruction."
“the narrator with god power”
“cosmicbleating and humanbleared”
and probably my favorite in this collection - I smiled and nodded when I read it!
“sunwasted with a chaser of dawn”
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U & I in a Paisley Conversation Pit by Émilie Galindo
The Poetry Lighthouse
This book uses more virgules than I think I have seen before in a single collection. Emilie prefers short groupings of words and (opinion) creates in fragments. I think that’s why she uses slashes to break up her longer prose pieces. She also includes a lot of short poems in this collection. Anyone who reads my reviews knows I am partial to short pieces because I like to catch/think of a tiny moment in time. There are many pop culture references in this collection that we view through Galindo’s unique lens. Galindo’s work is a whimsical dreamscape that floats between the real and imagined.
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Why I Wear My Past to Work by Chris Campbell
Parlyaree Press
Okay, again I am cheating a bit because I am going to re-share a micro-review that was published this summer in Variety Pack Issue XIV.
Breathing Apricots and Other Refreshing Ideas by Rachel Turney -first published in Variety Pack, 2026
Did you know that men have feelings and introspect (I’m being somewhat facetious)? What a wonder to come across this poetry collection by Chris Campbell that highlights the beauty of male emotion. Chris grapples with inadequacies and imposter syndrome between pages of poetic beauty and significance. This was a truly unique book that hit a soft place in a hard genre. This collection could be encapsulated to historically remember the human condition now. The editing, compilation, and over design by the press are also superb.
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A note from Rachel: I am looking for folks to review my two books with small presses, too! Record Player Life (the b-side) and Retired Wannabe Club Kid. If you can write a review for me and help spread the word about my collections, please email me for a free digital review copy. Thank you. The books are also for sale on my website: TURNEYTALKS.COM
