Ovid’s Creek by Sam Magavern, Art by Monica Angle

In Ovid's Creek Sam Magavern, in paying tribute to the Roman poet Ovid, works out his own ars poetica, one that values plainness over ornament, playfulness over solemnity, and liveliness over propriety and elevation. These virtues are paralleled by the landscapes of Monica Angle, which offer provisional, momentary takes on experience rather than stable images of the permanent. The result is a book of peculiar freshness.

—Carl Dennis, Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Practical Gods.

Monica Angle is a practicing artist based in Buffalo, New York. Her solo exhibitions include shows at the Burchfield Penney Art Center and the Fralin Museum of Art. Her work has been featured in public spaces such as Minneapolis City Hall and the Massachusetts State House, and it is part of many collections, both public and private. Originally from Omaha, she graduated from Harvard College, received an MS from Pennsylvania State University, Department of Geography, and did graduate work in printmaking and bookmaking at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. In addition to her studio practice, Angle works as a teaching artist, including a residency with the Just Buffalo Literary Center in the Buffalo Public Schools. Her website is monicaangle.com.

Sam Magavern is a writer and public interest lawyer. His work includes a non-fiction book, Primo Levi’s Universe, and a book of poetry, Noah’s Ark. His poems have appeared in many journals, including Poetry, Paris Review, and Antioch Review, and he is featured in the book Four Buffalo Poets. He wrote the screenplay for an independent film, The Last Word, and worked with musicians to create a novel-with-soundtrack, Ooh La La. In 2022 he founded the Calamus Project, a collaboration that brings Walt Whitman’s Calamus poems to life through films, a website, and programs. His website is sammagavern.com.

Book Information:

· Paperback: 116 pages
· Binding: Perfect-Bound
· Publisher: BlazeVOX [books]
· ISBN: 978-1-60964-433-8