[Brian Allgar]

Originally Posted by Chris O'Carroll

Many present an impression of bleakness in situations of confusion, loneliness, sickness, mediocrity and boredom.

Yowza! Somebody knows how to write advertising copy that will sell this poetry wheeze to the public. Welcome to our party. Are you here for the sickness, the mediocrity, or the boredom?

Of course not, Chris. I'm mainly here for the confusion and the loneliness, but above all the bleakness. In that respect, I have to say that I'm almost suicidally disappointed by Drills & Amusements.

[Julie Steiner]

Brian, it helps if you associate the title Drills and Amusements with Steve Martin's dentist in Little Shop of Horrors.

[Wendy Sloan]

Just got my copy from Amazon today: it includes my poem, "Dead Young Thing," originally published in The Raintown Review and workshopped here.

Very interesting collection, with lots of terrific work; Sphereans are particularly well-represented.
Congratulations, everyone! I was truly moved by your poems.

$24 a copy, a good part of which goes to benefit Medecins Sans Frontieres, U.K.

[Douglas G. Brown]

Originally Posted by Julie Steiner

Brian, it helps if you associate the title Drills and Amusements with Steve Martin's dentist in Little Shop of Horrors.

Oh, darn. I always thought it was from Sarah Palin's remark about the offshore oil industry, "Drill, baby, drill!"; which had a certain Freudian overtone.

[John Whitworth]

What, if I may ask, is a liminal age. I have been (rightly) chastised for flaunting my ignorance of new things. So here am I trying to put that right. Knowing that limen is a threshold doesn't seem to help.

[Ann Drysdale]

A time of impending change, for good or ill. A period in history that marks a turning-point. A moment of apparent opportunity, such as the dawn of a new century. A darkling thrush...

[Chris O'Carroll]

I think the title is meant to suggest that the world today is at the threshold of some great transformation, and our lives will help determine whether the coming changes are for the better or for the worse.

Not a particularly good title, in my opinion. Has the potential to turn away buyers by signalling to them that they don't have the vocabulary required to read this book. Poetry Without Borders is the best alternative title I've been able to come up with. Not brilliant, but probably an improvement.

[John Whitworth]

Ah! Thank you, Ann. What a load of tosh, eh. Not the book, I hasten to add.

[Michael Cantor]

I agree re the the title, and would have voted for Chris's.

Does anybody know what Doctors Without Borders actual contact is with the magazine, and - to be crass about it - how much they get per issue. I found an indication that on a (discounted) bulk sale of £360, a total of £150 goes to Doctors Without Borders, which isn't bad. The payback seems to be significant, and I think it would help if it were possible to say, "...and for every copy you purchase, XXX goet to Doctors Without Borders".

[Roger Slater]

Sadly, this fine organization is in the news today in a way that underscores the dangers they face in selflessly helping others.