Book Review

New Lines from the Old Line State: An Anthology of the Maryland Writers Association

MWA Books, 2008
www.marylandwriters.org.
ISBN-10: 098200320X

I have to admit, I approach the buying and reading of anthologies with some trepidation. Having edited one myself, I know the difficulties of fulfilling the needs for quality writing, a consistent yet varied tone (i.e. making sure not to drift too far from the standard set by most of the stories into abstract or fantasy or post-post-post?-modern writing; it upsets the delicate balance), diversity, tension, excitement, thoughtfulness. I'm even more cautious about anthologies that collect local or regional writing where most if not all of the writers are not known and proven on the national scale. Let's face it, anthologies are a gamble, both for those that put them together, those that submit their work to them, and those that buy them.

But I was surprised and impressed by the Maryland Writers' Association Anthology: New Lines from the Old Line State. Just for a start, it's a terrific title, and the book itself has an elegant, professional, and pleasing design. It's a book you'd pick up. You feel you can trust it. First hurdle cleared.

Then one after another, the stories, poems, and non-fiction pieces present themselves in a steady, solid string of good reading. The reader settles in, feeling that he or she is not wasting time with a book that won't pay off, that when they reach its end they will have been taken on many interesting journeys, and through many strong emotions and compelling ideas.

There are some standouts, where the pieces feel fully realized and yet still carry a trace of that mysterious place/voice from which writing comes. Meaning there's less of the writer behind the curtain trying to make something happen or touch the reader. These are "Our Lady of the Helicopter," "Big, Hopeful Loops," "The Dryad," "Family Recipe," "Flying With a Ghost," "Thirty-Two Years," "Brother," and "The Game of Jacks."

No book, however, is without flaws (happily, I say. Who wants to read a flawless book? I find them a little plastic and sinister. As if written by a machine rather than a human). More than a few of the pieces were missing that key moment of transformation. Often a character or narrator (in the case of non-fiction) leaped to a conclusion or realization without showing us how or why it happened. Without connecting the dots. We were asked to take it on their word that something had happened that had caused the change.

And occasionally I found dialogue unconvincing, a lack of clear motivation on the part of a character, more atmosphere than story, shifts in point of view not accounted for, a touch of predictable plot here and there, metaphors or symbolism that didn't quite pay off. All the things we regularly struggle with as writers but could have been resolved by one more run through the critique group before the pieces were published.

None of these were enough to tip that balance I mentioned earlier. Many times I found myself lost in a piece, caught up in the tension or emotion, completely forgetting that I was reading an anthology and a writer I'd never read before. The latter is something that often creates resistance in a reader; sometimes we are hung up on making sure the writer proves him or herself before we actually enjoy the writing, so to overcome that is a victory in itself. Overall, I saw writers really stretching and reaching for stronger stories and poems, a higher and better level of craft, and mostly succeeding. As both a writer and reader I appreciate that. I respect that. That's worth reading.—Reader review