Red Giant Books - Independent Publisher of literary fiction, non-fiction and poetry

“Michael Salinger is one of the most gifted and loved performance poets on the circuit today, and like his other poetry, Well Defined has the style and attitude that young readers love.  This approach to vocabulary can’t help but succeed because each poem’s story leaves an indelible image in the reader’s mind.  Noah Webster is surely smiling.” James Blasingame, Associate Professor, Department of English Education, Arizona State University Winner of the IRA Arbuthnot Award “The personifications are witty and evocative, and the vocabulary is choice enough that the explorations will be intriguing to veteran users and novices alike.” The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books  “The poems are as well-intentioned as they are well-written.” Voice of Youth Advocates

In her smart and sparkling new collection of poem, From the Park Bench, Sara Holbrook deftly switches personas from poet to provocateur, from teacher to trickster and from literary gumshoe to a shimmering shaman of the Spoken Word.  Her work will be treasured by open-hearted children of all ages for years to come. -Michael Heaton, Minister of Culture, author, screenwriter

Leading American poet and international performing artist Ray McNiece has crafted a soaring love song for his hometown.  Adding to the melody are Tim Lachina’s black and white photos that capture the beauty, struggle and grit of a city reinventing itself.  This book is for anyone who has ever experienced the conflicted love for a city that is a symbol of post-industrial decline and its proud and resilient citizens who came the shores of Lake Erie in search of a better life, working in the mills, machine shops, and factories and living under the acrid cloud of industrial production.  

Salinger’s writing is like a bear in the kitchen, tearing into the tender truth of everyday life with unpredictable swipes from sharp linguistic claws “capable of ripping through a refrigerator’s skin.”  A grappling hook in a stingray, a red-tailed hawk on a bark covered fence post, an outdated pack of Twizzlers – Salinger describes familiar images with “the choreographed precision of slow motion pistons,” scientifically accurate and unsentimentally clear.