News
Today is
Upcoming Event:
Starry Winter Night
Wednesday, February 17, 2010 at 7.00 p.m.
Solley Theater in Princeton, NJ | FREE | Sponsored by Bloomberg
Peter Dabbene reads "Baby Einstein: World Animals: A Retrospective Review."
Come rediscover the pleasure of listening to stories read aloud. Listen to several writers from the Princeton area read or perform a variety of imaginative and original short fiction, nonfiction, memoir and dramatic pieces. Each work is under 10 minutes in length. Presented by the Princeton Arts Council in collaboration with the Princeton Public Library. Link to Paul Robeson Center for the Arts calendar..
Recent Review:
| Optimism By Peter Dabbene Copyright 2009 Peter Dabbene ISBN 978-0-578-04116-2 www.peterdabbene.com Order online: http://www.peterdabbene.com/books.htm Review by LB Sedlacek In this poetry collection by Peter Dabbene, there's a treat -- somewhat reminiscent of "Easter Eggs" hidden in DVDs -- in that he uses a photographic illustration, graphic whatever you want to call it (I like art, I love modern art but I'm not an artist) at the end of each poem. These pictures serve to add a visual punctuation to the poem maybe punching up the title or a particular theme, verse or line. I have to admit once I started reading his poetry book I looked forward to the end of the poem to see what visual piece would follow it. The blend of words and visuals is nothing new but how it is presented and how the words are represented is somewhat of a balancing act between the two forms. You don't want to over illustrate the poem so that the reader feels like they are being led to a conclusion and at the same time you don't want to point the reader in the wrong direction. Dabbene seems to have carefully chosen his visual props, so to speak, and they work well with each poem. |
For "Notes on a Story Never
But there's more to this poetry |
From "Extinct": "I would not feel threatened but for their sake// Blonde hair and blue eyes, killed by weak genes, now found only in kits and foreigners/ Rotary dial telephones, holed up in old houses like fugitives and shut-ins/ Saturday morning cartoons, victims of bloodless coups by political roundtables/ What I would give to feel again// the thrill of exploring/ VHF and UHF/ exotic and mysteriously static…" From "A Dream" In my dream,/ I am running// Alongside me is every dog we've ever owned/ Their tongues flapping out the sides of their mouths/ I watch them run, and smile/ My private flock, my private stock of best friends/ With no leashes and no fences…" Peter Dabbene has also published two story collections, "Prime Movements" and "Glossolalia"as well as a novel, "Mister Dreyfus' Demons." _________________________________________ LB Sedlacek's poems have appeared in such publications as "Manorborn," "MamaZine," "Audience Magazine," "Skive Magazine," and "Poetry Monthly." http://www.myspace.com/lbsedlacek http://twitter.com/lbsedlacek |
Other Recent Highlights:
Angermiller, Michele. "His book of poetry is a collaboration with 42 photographers in 8 countries" [an interview with Peter Dabbene]. The Times of Trenton, December 26, 2009.
“Tributary” – new short story published in the Winter 2008-2009 issue of Philadelphia Stories: http://www.philadelphiastories.org/tributary
August 21, 2008: Character sketches from the upcoming graphic novel Ark: http://ryanbayliss.blogspot.com/2008/08/blog-post.html
