ISBN:978-1-910669-26-6, 68 pages ©2016
Ivy Page’s second collection of poetry breathes, expands, and leaves ripples in its wake as it pulls the reader through the elements that bring about change. Each of the elements are present, but in a way that embraces the possibility of moving forward, of rebirth and redefining self. By referring to the elements of self, the greater world and nature, the poems are meant to pull the reader into these transitions with the speaker.
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ISBN: 978-1-908836-45-8
Page Count: 68
Publication Date: Friday, February 15, 2013
Any Other Branch
Cover Artwork: Big Pinkie by Beth Page
About this Book
The poems in Any Other Branch are grouped into four sections; representing developmental stages of life. The stages are grand leaps, rather than small steps or divisions of time. They are emotional groupings based on the way each poem ties into the next and the section’s over-arching theme. Ivy Page employs a philosophical approach to the psychology of human response. She explores the world through different perspectives, lending each poem emotional, moral, and intellectual depth.
Reviews/Media
Late Night Library Interview by Jean Macpherson
Writing Blind Review of Any Other Branch
Writing Blind Author Spotlight
94.9FM Mornings with Sandra & Teddy
Advance Praise
“Nothing, lately, from my kitchen / tastes as sweet as ink,” declares Ivy Page, and in brief lyrics that are humorous and sensual (“Like the warm lick across my thigh / when you come to bed early”), she balances that sweetness with an irreverent tang to allay her spiritual hunger: “Give me light in the world gone dark in the center / of some black rose, some angelic tar pit.” Any Other Branch is a book of such sly surfaces that often reveal surprising depths.
Michael Waters
These poems are short and quick, but of great consequence, like bullets. The language here is filled with roosters and diets and radiators that simply refuse to let go. I love the directness of Ivy Page’s tone in this work, how “Dogs hang in my throat trying to push past my heart,” as she writes, and how a “Man knows how to dress / like a woman, not in women’s clothes.” Indeed. Any Other Branch reminded me of early work by a brilliant contemporary Irish poet Rita Ann Higgins—in how these lines punch (“birds wear headphones/ in your dreams. Their limbs are fat.”) and how they stand up for one woman’s voice, and how they laugh (“Jesus ate my Buick, so I might have to walk / miles to find these parts”) out loud, in a full voice, unafraid.
Ilya Kaminsky
Any Other Branch is a collection that’s both incredibly grounded, and also filled with psychological urgency. The poems originate in the personal, but extend effortlessly into the deeply universal, showcasing a fine and original imagination, and humanity to spare.
Paula McLain
author of Stumble, Gorgeous and the New York Times Best Seller, The Paris Wife
With “children dancing in ginger spiced corridors,” a pumpkin lover “glowing / with the light I gave,” and “wooden men who dance / on boards with dowels sticking out / of their backs,” Ivy Page populates a lush and surreal world. It’s a world full of ‘branches’—of crossroads, choices and consequences rendered in sensual, sometimes surprising language and imagery.
Liz Ahl
author of Luck and A Thirst That’s Partly Mine
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Paperback ISBN: 978-1-62661-384-3, 142 pages ©2015
Creative Writing Workshop takes the devices and forms of creative writing and breaks them down into straightforward explanations of specific skills, thus helping students navigate the landscape of creative writing with ease and confidence.Students first explore the differences between concrete and abstract language and learn forms of figurative speech including analogies, allegories, similes and metaphors. They then focus on specific forms of creative writing. These include fiction, creative non-fiction, and types of poetry, such as the sonnet, triolet, and villanelle. The book also provides helpful information on punctuation as well as resources for writing cover letters and biographies.
Creative Writing Workshop meets the three important needs of a student-writer. It serves as a reference guide to terminology and definition. It provides examples of excellent writing from working writers, and it offers space for students to create their own works directly on the pages of the book.
Creative Writing Workshop is written for beginning and intermediate creative writing courses. It can also be used in courses on analyzing and writing about literature.