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Parallel Press releases Cicatrix by Charles Cantrell
Posted 9/17/2001
MADISON, Wis.--
Poet Charles Cantrell wrestles with the lingering effects of his
father's alcoholism in the latest release from the Parallel Press, Cicatrix. In
this personal 21-piece collection, Cantrell exposes a childhood
tainted by addiction and violence.
A chapbook is a small-format literary work, usually of poetry or essays. The chapbooks are published by the Parallel Press, an imprint of the UW-Madison libraries. This marks the 15th release for the press.
Cantrell teaches English at Madison Area Technical College. He holds a master’s in Fine Arts from Goddard College in Vermont.
Cantrell was nominated for a 2000 Pushcart Prize. His awards include grants from the Wisconsin Arts Board, fellowships from Ragdale, the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, and Ucross. Cantrell's poetry has appeared in The Literary Review, Nimrod, Poetry Northwest, Prairie Schooner, and Yankee.
Here's a sample poem from Cicatrix:
Always, My Father
Always, for me, pinball nickels, lint-
pinched, in his pocket. Bar-top pretzels
and Friday night fights by Gillette.
Walking home, Dad didn't hold my hand.
The litany of rounds buzzed my head.
Gene Fullmer, flattened, bloody nose,
slumped in the corner. "Fullmer beat Webb,"
Dad shouted. "Webb kept dancing away."A little drunk, Dad staggered toward the Curb.
Woozy on smoke, I fantasized being a boxer--
jab jab toward the shadows between hedges.
Later, still confused about Fullmer
being the loser and the winner, I rolled lint
from my blanket between my thumb and finger
into tiny balls, then clenched my fists
and waited for the bell and waited.
Each Parallel Press chapbook is $10; annual subscriptions for six are $50. Titles may be ordered by writing:
The Parallel Press
372 Memorial Library
728 State St.
Madison, WI 53706
For information, see their Web site at http://parallelpress.library.wisc.edu, or phone (608) 262-2600. E-mail inquiries may be sent to kfrazier@library.wisc.edu.
