Review of Gertrude�s �Cup of Joe�

November 18, 2003 5:08 p.m.

The winter is drifting in, in numbing, spastic chills, and I sit in the comfort of my house, feeling the heat of a steaming cup of coffee with you, though my fingers touch only the coldness of keyboard.

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A �first-time� piece transports our senses, makes the cup of coffee we have every morning seem new again. The short lines of your composition, the use of �commands without subjects,� as in a recipe book, all boil your experience down to the most evocative essentials. Here I received a vivid mirage-feeling of heat through thin cardboard. I like how you foreshadow addiction. But I would like to hear a little more on what must surely be the first thing one notices about a new beverage�the taste! This description, if done with vibrant and figurative language, could add a wonderful sense of lushness as a contrast with the pared-down storytelling of the other aspects of your experience.

-Anna