THE SECOND KINGDOM | Ron Singer
Now I shall sing the second kingdom,
there where the soul of man is cleansed,
made worthy of the ascent to Heaven.
—Dante, Purgatorio, I, 4-6
(Hollander translation, 2003)
In “The Key”, American tourists in Turkey are enmeshed in a security investigation; in “The Changing Woman Health Conference” a middle-aged Navajo woman navigates the rough waters of American education and medicine; in “The Parents We Deserve” the parents of a rich young couple die, so they hire new ones. Thus begins an odyssey that will carry the foursome from New York City to Heaven, Purgatory, and Florida.
From 2007-09, writing by Ron Singer has appeared in, or is forthcoming from, these publications: 3711 Atlantic, 55 Words, Alba, The Avatar Review, Big Bridge, The Brooklyn Rail, Contemporary Rhyme, Defenestration, Elimae, Friends of Nigeria Newsletter, Gander Press Review, Georgia Review, Ghoti, Great Works,Hampden-Sydney Poetry Review, Nth Position, New Works Review, Paper Street, Pilgrimage, Poetry Midwest, Right Hand Pointing, Sage of Consciousness Literary E-zine, Starry Night Review, Waterways, and Word Riot.
His essay-review, “O Ti Lo Wa Ju (’You Have Gone Past All’) The Caine Prize for African Writing,” is in the Summer 2007 issue of The Georgia Review. Three poems are included in the 2009 anthology, Poetic Voices Without Borders-2 (Gival Press). His chapbook, A Voice for My Grandmother, was published in November 2006 by Ten Penny Players, which issued a second printing in October 2007. To date, A Voice has garnered ten reviews. Uhuru Revisited, his book of interviews with pro-democracy leaders in Africa, is in preparation by Africa World Press.
Ron lives in New York City. In January 2008, he retired from Friends Seminary, a K-12 Quaker school where he had taught for thirty-two years. His wife, Elizabeth Yamin, is a visual artist and teacher; their daughter, Zoe Singer, is a food writer. His website is ronsinger.net.
PDF | 102 Pages | 8.5 x 11 | US$4.95
ISBN 9781933688138
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--Harold Bowes, Editor, Alba"