End of Days

Watch this space for Donora Hillard's entry to end 30 Days of The 5-2, but remember The 5-2 is open to original poetry year-round. My thanks to all the participants.

SIXKILL by Robert B. Parker

For several years before his passing, Robert B. Parker wrote three books per year. While his consistency is to be applauded, for me, it caused many of those books to seem alike, mass-produced. Parker fell into repetitive dialogue and aimless chapters. If Spenser needed months to solve a case or a year to recover from injury, he got it. I was glad to see Ace Atkins emulate Parker at his best in last year's LULLABY, and hearing this year's WONDERLAND featured Spenser's apprentice, Zebulon Sixkill, I had reason to read Parker's final Spenser novel.

Spenser's training Sixkill seems a nod to his mortality, but Mel Farman of the Parker estate tells me Parker created Sixkill to replace Hawk in a proposed new TV series because the TV rights to Hawk were still owned by the developers of the SPENSER: FOR HIRE spinoff A MAN CALLED HAWK. Spenser does come up against a sadistic killer whose competence he compares to Hawk's, and he does say confronting the killer is his appointment in Samarra, yet he survives. It's Parker's death that gives every word inescapable resonance.

At The 5-2: "Swine" by Ruth Sabath Rosenthal

This week, New York poet Rosenthal turns workplace tension into a tasty dinner.

30 Days of The 5-2 concludes tomorrow with Voice of The 5-2 Donora Hillard.

Submissions are open for 5-2 guest editor Charles Rammelkamp through June 15, 2013.

UPDATE: Crime novelist and Voice of The 5-2 J.T. Ellison blogged about her love of poetry and its influence on her books.

Back to Oaxaca

Kieran Shea discusses his contribution to The Lineup #4 on Day 28 of 30 Days of The 5-2.

Bonus Entry: 5-2 alum Rauan Klassnik joins Day 28 of 30 Days of The 5-2 with a look at "Crow Tyrannosaurus" by one of his influences, Ted Hughes.

Be sure to check out Rauan's 5-2 poem and this interview about his books, Holy Land and The Moon's Jaw.

Another look at Angel Zapata's "Housekeeper"

Voice of The 5-2 John Ricotta reflects on Angel Zapata's "Housekeeper", as performed by our friend, Deshant Paul, on Day 27 of 30 Days of The 5-2.

Bonus Entry: Mistress of Mystery Janet Rudolph invited me to guest-post about the tour at Mystery Fanfare.

Elizabeth A. White revisits "Kilmahog"

Reviewer Elizabeth A. White revisits "Kilmahog" by Nigel Bird on Day 26 of 30 Days of The 5-2.

Jay Stringer digs Seamus Heaney

Jay Stringer, 5-2 alum ("Cold Call") and crime novelist (Old Gold, Runaway Town) blogs about his favorite poem, "Digging" by Seamus Heaney, on Day 25 of 30 Days of The 5-2.