Books published by Citylit Press

Winner of the Harriss Poetry Prize, judged by series editor Kwame Alexander and 2019 final judge Erica Dawson, Behind Normalcy is the first chapbook by Maryland-based poet Burgi Zenhaeusern. According to Teri Ellen Cross Davis, author of Haint and Poetry Coordinator at the Folger Shakespeare Library, “Behind Normalcy is an opportunity to explore the tense and probing questions we hide behind and hide from in polite society. From the juxtaposition of sending a child off to school as a photographer’s death makes front-page news, to the great aunt the poet knows best by her handmade socks, Zenhaeusern has the patience and the eye to peel back the layers of everyday and reveal the small truths lying beneath. In succinct, pure lines, she documents the quiet beauty of this fragmented and complex world.” Poems in Behind Normalcy have appeared previously in Passager, Forage Poetry, American Poetry Journal, Oversound, Gargoyle, and elsewhere. CityLit Press is the publishing imprint of nonprofit literary arts organization CityLit Project (www.citylitproject.org).

In this fourth collection of fiction, Rafael Alvarez returns to his main theme of exile, the heartbreak of leaving and being left behind set to the sound track of the Beatles, Dylan, and Zappa. His characters struggle mightily to make memory as tangible as flesh. These are "stories from one of America's most talented scribes." - James McBride

A man attempts to make a fresh start by reclaiming domain over his yard with the last birthday gift from his ex-wife, a lawnmower. A couple discovers Faulkner, shrimp and grits, Morgan Freeman, and how much they don't know about each other. A son reconnects with a distant father and his dog while "bucket-sitting" on a frozen lake. Weaving through these stories and more, a wandering musician-tackle box full of harmonicas in tow-is audience to his transient neighbors residing at a La Quinta Inn and Suites. At times funny, often close to the bone, always poignant, Ripple Meets the Deep defines the voice of a true storyteller whose tales of flawed people are at once local and expansive. Jason Tinney is a fiction writer, poet, and freelance journalist. He co-founded and performs with Donegal X-Press and The Wayfarers. He lives in Maryland.

The distance between Cuba and the United States: tantalizingly close yet worlds apart. When a beautiful showgirl married to Cuba's most famous baseball player escapes to the sea, only a boy and a boat and a belief in the "American Dream" keep her afloat. Planning to rendezvous with her husband after an exhibition game in El Norte, the showgirl risks everything only to discover that crossing the straits might be easier than spanning allegiances. Set against the backdrop of actual games played between the Cuba National Team and the Baltimore Orioles, Habana Libre is the story of people caught between home and hope.