Reviews

Metaphysical Dictionary
This sly, whimsical debut collection by Toronto poet Svetlana Lilova is not much more than pocket-sized, but its poetic reach is expansive..
Barb Carey
,
Toronto Star
This sly, whimsical debut collection by Toronto poet Svetlana Lilova is not much more than pocket-sized, but its poetic reach is expansive. Lilova was born in Sofia, Bulgaria, and arrived in Canada without knowing any English, so having a dictionary on hand was essential. Metaphysical Dictionary is an idiosyncratic version of that survival tool. (It’s idiosyncratic even in form: the alphabetical entries are from A to Y.) In an interview with the literary magazine Canthius, Lilova explained that she chose terms that “possess personal emotional valence and associations.” At their best, these epigrammatic gems resonate profoundly. Throughout, there’s the sense of the poet trying to drill down to the essence of feelings and motives. Anger, for instance, is defined as “a scab/some of us sometimes peel/off the raw hurt.” Elsewhere, Lilova captures the paradoxical truth of “emptiness” as “the heaviest of feelings” and “stories” as “multipliers of our experience.”
Metaphysical Dictionary
A series of beautiful short poems and abstract sentences... Mesmerizing.
Dannii
,
Goodreads

[Metaphysical Dictionary] is set out in a typical dictionary format ... A series of beautiful short poems and abstract sentences relating to each word. The concept of this book is so unique and the end product, in both the physical and written sense, is just mesmerizing.

Metaphysical Dictionary
A veritable artist of consciousness
Pavel Somov
,
Amazon

This metaphysical dictionary would have driven Wittgenstein out of his formalistic mind, which is why I love this daring collection. Lilova is a veritable artist of consciousness - her poems are laconic Pollack drips of connotational calligraphy - true impressionism. Sober and surreal at once.

Metaphysical Dictionary
Profound, whimsical and wise
Marilyn Herie
,
Educateria

Metaphysical Dictionary by Svetlana Lilova is profound, whimsical and wise, delightfully illustrated by Graham Falk. At her recent book launch at Centennial College, the author described how, newly-arrived in Canada and never having heard spoken English, she traversed the city with a dictionary in hand. Fast-forward many years, and Lilova offers us a compass, a roadmap, a mirror and a prism through which we can distill our lived experience and inner selves in this small, elegant volume.

Personal
Thought-provoking in its simplicity; a major achievement for this artist
Wendy
,
Goodreads
A collection of photographs including the facades of storefront windows and a never-ending highway in a bleak landscape, to the faces and forms of people he captures along his journey. Experiencing all facets of life across borders and time, Dave Green vividly juxtaposes textures and moods in his pictures, arousing an emotional response whether from the nude stills, diverse faces or simply a cemetery where a crippled old man comes face to face with death. From LP Farrell's introduction to a collection of photographs that ignite the imagination with a gritty and real view of life, this is a book that's thought-provoking in its simplicity; a major achievement for this artist.
Personal
Excellent black and white photography of subjects close to the photographer.
Joel
,
Amazon
Very pleased with this aptly titled work. Excellent black and white photography of subjects close to the photographer. And very nicely printed as well.
The Man Who Remembered the Moon
Thoroughly satisfying. A great start as one of the first books from a new small press in Toronto.
Jade Colbert
,
Globe and Mail

Released this summer through Amazon’s curated Kindle Singles program, in print only this fall, The Man Who Remembered the Moon says something about publishing today. Its publication history is interesting not only for being digital-first but also because, outside poetry and pop-culture series, you rarely see such a slim book in print nowadays: 65 pages, 51 dedicated to the title story. Not every book has to be a multicourse meal, though; sometimes, what you want is a quick bite, and as the latter, this one is thoroughly satisfying.

The Man Who Remembered the Moon
A brilliant novella from a promising new author.
Ventsi Dimitrov
,
Codices (Sofia, Bulgaria)
What would happen if one day the Moon suddenly disappeared? More over, what would happen if only one man realized that it did and all other people on Earth claim there’s never been such thing as a moon? That’s exactly what David Hull’s novella “The Man Who Remembered the Moon” is about. Although it’s about a bunch of other things, too, like family, love, passion, and even existence. Between the pages of this book one will find what’s the meaning of desperation, but also what’s it like to believe in something so strongly, that nothing, nothing can stand in a person’s way. “The Man Who Remembered the Moon” is not your normal everyday read. The author may think it’s just a story, but it’s rather something more – a philosophical read about man; about his desire to know more, to understand the world around him, and what other people perceive. Things start to look really bizarre when toward the end of the story Dr. Pallister, starts looking deeply into what the protagonist has gathered as research. Daniel has gathered notes on the Moon, it’s oddly lacking mentions in history and so on, and gives them to the doctor. That leads to one of the best plot twists I have recently read in a book or whatever. I don’t have any intention to spoil it for you – read and enjoy it for yourself.
The Man Who Remembered the Moon
It’s a long time since I’ve enjoyed a new piece of writing so much
Kaggsy
,
Bookish Ramblings
It’s an engrossing, fascinating tale, and is the kind of speculative storytelling I love. From the very start, you’re drawn straight into Daniel’s story, becoming complicit with him (because of course, we know the moon is there – don’t we?). We struggle alongside him to comprehend exactly what’s happened and to make sense of the paradigm shift that seems to have taken place in the world – who is mad and who is sane? Who is actually telling the story and who can we believe? It’s a tale that throws up a great number of questions and leaves you thinking about it for a long time afterwards. It’s a long time since I’ve enjoyed a new piece of writing so much – I only wish there was more of it!
You Call This Home
Powerful and haunting
Lisa de Nikolits
,
author of No Fury Like That

I found these stories to be powerful and haunting. I can’t help but wonder what other gems Joan might have brought to this world, had she written more.