Books published by Madville Publishing

The Virgin Mary long ago transcended her religious origins to become an instantly recognizable icon. From pop art to pop music, Mary''s status as the Mother of God continues to inspire the faithful and the secular. A statue of Mary weeping blood or her appearance on a piece of toast still has the power to make front page news and bring the devoted running with candles and eBay bids. In Mother Mary Comes To Me, poets explore the intersection of the sacred and popular personifications of Mary that have evolved throughout the ages, and how she still holds sway in the 21st century as a figure to be praised and celebrated.ContributorsFranklin Abbott - Ivy Alvarez - P.F. Anderson - David-Matthew Barnes - GraceBauer - Julie E. Bloemeke - Laure-Anne Bosselaar - Jericho Brown - Brent Calderwood - Rick Campbell - Michelle Castleberry - Ann Cefola - Chelsea Clarey - Jennifer Clark - Catharine Clark-Sayles - Jill Crammond - C. Cleo Creech - Tom Daley - Denise Duhamel & Maureen Seaton - Rupert Fike - Alice Friman - Jeannine Hall Gailey - Marcene Gandolfo - Lara Gularte - Danielle Hanson- Deborah Hauser - Trebor Healey - Gustavo Hernandez - Lincoln Jaques- Mike James - Julie Kane - Tina Kelley - Blake Leland - Janet Lowery - Rupert Loydell - John C. Mannone - Jennifer Martelli - Pablo Miguel Mart├¡nez - Marissa McNamara - Linda Parsons - Robert Peake - Alison Pelegrin - Lee Ann Pingel - Fiona Pitt-Kethley - Kyle Potvin - Steven Reigns - JC Reilly - Todd Robinson - Janna Schledorn - Donna McLaughlin Schwender - Robert Siek - Larry D. Thacker - Richard Utz - Jane Varley - Megan Volpert - Lillo Way - Tyson West - Cassondra Windwalker - Karen Weyant - Robert E. Wood

The Asthmatic Kid & Other Stories is a collection of narratives that chronicle the life of a young man trying to survive his childhood. These stories take place in the 60s and 70s and feature compelling characters that often have conflicting interests, get a few bumps and bruises, but discover what is truly important. Mark Tulin’s quirky stories speak of freedom, love, and the joys of youthful mischief. “Crazy Grandpa,” “Into the Blue Suburban Sky,” “Dark Clouds Over Baseball” and others in this collection will make trauma seem not so scary and, in many cases, quite amusing.

Bobby Horecka writes short fiction laced with truth. He tells tales of a man who had the roughest of starts in life. Through the fireside bardic storytelling tradition, readers learn of the resilience of children and the power of love to redeem even the most damaged. As the young man grows, he discovers a talent for observing and recording stories, ultimately becoming a newsman with the bad luck and poor timing of entering a dying field. These partially true, tongue-in-cheek stories offer a first-hand look, at the demise of the American newspaper, and at a slice of the unique Czeck community in and around Lavaca County, Texas.You might've just started out or reached the jumping off spot. Maybe you're the rainy-day saver who never left anyplace without charting a precise destination and itinerary first, or you're plumb astounded you got where you're at and couldn't tell me what happened last night much less what's in store six weeks from now. You might have a working man's calloused hands the calloused soul that only the mistreated know or the calloused heart that comes with having yours shattered too many times. Everybody needs to catch an occasional break or they risk becoming Long Gone & Lost...

For this anthology, Madville Publishing sought out stories, real or imagined, that explore all variations of the idea of running away. We selected stories about running away, wanting to run away, and trying to run away. We chose stories that involved escaping with someone and stories that involved escaping from someone. Some of the stories tell of the ones left behind, about their feelings of loss and loneliness. There are tales of kids, teens and adults of all ages who have left, for whatever reason. They take us on their journeys down the road, across town, across the country, and across the world. They tell us about empty closets, longing, and unanswered messages.

This poetry collection was first published in 1987 when Jan Cole lived and worked in San Francisco, but the poems were written over the course of many years, beginning with her time in university at the Newcomb College of Tulane University and at the Sorbonne. Many of the poems are set in the town of Huntsville, Texas, (where Jan was raised and lived until her passing in the summer of 2019). Still others reference friends Jan knew and worked with around the world. This edition features the striking art of Mexican artist, Adelina Moya and Chinese translations by Angela Liu. Finally, the project would never have taken place if not for the editorial oversight of Lorrie Lo Wagamon.

A Third Place exists in the extremes, pinpointing the details in nature which demand attention, and finding within those details our place in the bigger picture. Set in a series of observations and experiences, A Third Place on the one hand brings us all closer to nature through the eyes of the author yet makes us wonder if he has been following us around on our afternoon walks.

If the taste of the eternal "is increasingly absent in our words," then Jeff Hardin's sixth collection, A Clearing Space in the Middle of Being, attempts to behold language anew, to listen in on its "preview of eternity." Aware of ambiguities that plague our lives and given to swerves of logic and dislocations, to echoes and reverberations "too numerous to see in some totality," his poems nonetheless speak openly to existence, to the mind's "attempts/to console itself," and to the "intoxication of incoherence" existence so often feels like. Here in a postmodern world, is it still possible to step boldly into certainty, into clarity, to find a sacred and shared space where "all moments blaze up with a speaking/voice"? Hardin listens intently, discovering more and more how "wanderingly vast" enchantment still might be. In the presence of so many options for understanding, he chooses to believe "a new/parable unfolding, still instructive," pointing him toward a fellowship with others who likewise "lean toward thinking some healing is already/underway."