Dorothy Bittner

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" height=120 BGCOLOR="#CCCC99" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="0ec8dfe1esnpes.jpg"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><B>FootHills Publishing 2009</B></FONT><B>     </B><B>|</B><B>     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="FootHills Publishing 2009"><U><B>home</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="FootHills Publishing 2009"><U>FootHills Publishing 2009</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id41.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Books 2009"><U>Books 2009</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id44.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Laury A. Egan"><U>Laury A. 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They belong to a tradition of confessional/narrative poems, but there's a truly unique sensibility here--voices that seem conjured out of music and empathy, full of dark humor and beauty. More than anything, I felt I had gotten to know the poet in these poems, or the poet's stand-ins, because of the real commitment this writer made to going as far as possible into the portals opened by the poems."</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> Laura Kasischke, author of <I>The Life Before Her Eyes</I></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> Dorothy Bittner is a 2008 graduate of Wells College where she studied creative writing, with a focus on poetry. While at Wells, she was the recipient of The Catherine De Pau Prize in Poetry, The Class of 1905 Prize in Poetry, The M. Helena Zachos Prize in Fiction, and The Phoenix Society Prize in Poetry. She lives and works on Martha's Vineyard, where she writes bawdy poetry for a well known island haunt.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> From the book:</div> <bR> <div> THE SLAUGHTER YARD</div> <bR> <div> The back of the truck was filled with crates. </div> <div> The crates were filled with chickens. The old man, reeking </div> <div> of sweat and whiskey, thrust his hands</div> <div> into the crates and emerged with two chickens </div> <div> in each hand. They squawked, and fought, beating </div> <div> the man's grimy arms and belly, shooting</div> <div> feathers in all directions. He crammed </div> <div> the birds into silver cones, heads down.</div> <div> He took a knife from a bucket of soapy water</div> <div> mixed with Clorox, and, with a quick twist</div> <div> of the wrist, slit their snow white throats.</div> <bR> <div> The air was hot and thick, only 10 AM.</div> <div> The sweet-sick smell of blood rising from the tub</div> <div> set beneath the cones attracted flies by the thousands.</div> <div> The old drunk watched the blood coursing from the chickens, </div> <div> four thick, red streams spattering and staining </div> <div> the white tarp behind them.</div> <div> The half-severed heads dangling, beaks open</div> <div> tongues curled backward, spasmed </div> <div> as networks of brain tissue ignited for the last time.</div> <div> He pulled the bodies -</div> <div>  a mess of white feathers, broken wings, and blood - </div> <div> from the cones and plunged them into a bath </div> <div> of boiling water, wiping his sticky hands</div> <div> across his belly and taking a long swig</div> <div> from a Pepsi bottle filled with gin.</div> <bR> <div> The white bodies bobbed for a moment, </div> <div> and the man transported them to the steel plucking machine. </div> <div> Standing in the filthy barnyard, it looked like an implement</div> <div> from the Inquisition. With a flick of a switch</div> <div> the contraption sprang alive, spinning wildly,</div> <div> mad thumps and bumps sounding</div> <div> like sneakers in a dryer. Wet feathers clumped</div> <div> from the bottom and fell in a perfect circle</div> <div> to the ground. </div> <bR> <div> I turned the machine off.</div> <div> I did not want to look inside.     </div> <bR> <div>  </div> <div> Between Rocks and Shadows</div> <div> is a 28 page hand-stitched chapbook.</div> <div> $8.00</div> <bR> <bR> <div> TO ORDER  ON-LINE                                              <A HREF="id42.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Ordering By Mail"><U>To order through mail click here.</U></A></div> <bR> <div> From the US or Canada        <form target="paypal" action="https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr" method="post"> <input type="image" src="https://www.paypal.com/en_US/i/btn/sc-but-01.gif" border="0" name="submit" alt="Make payments with PayPal - it's fast, free and secure!"> <input type="hidden" name="add" value="1"> <input type="hidden" name="cmd" value="_cart"> <input type="hidden" name="business" value="fhp@foothillspublishing.com"> <input type="hidden" name="item_name" value="Between Rocks and Shadows"> <input type="hidden" name="item_number" value="09-04"> <input type="hidden" name="amount" value="8.00"> <input type="hidden" name="no_note" value="1"> <input type="hidden" name="currency_code" value="USD"> </form>  </div> <bR> <bR> <div> From Other Countries            <form target="paypal" action="https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr" method="post"> <input type="image" src="https://www.paypal.com/en_US/i/btn/sc-but-01.gif" border="0" name="submit" alt="Make payments with PayPal - it's fast, free and secure!"> <input type="hidden" name="add" value="1"> <input type="hidden" name="cmd" value="_cart"> <input type="hidden" name="business" value="fhp@foothillspublishing.com"> <input type="hidden" name="item_name" value="Between Rocks and Shadows"> <input type="hidden" name="item_number" value="09-04"> <input type="hidden" name="amount" value="8.00"> <input type="hidden" name="no_note" value="1"> <input type="hidden" name="shipping" value="5.00"> <input type="hidden" name="currency_code" value="USD"> </form>  </div> <bR> <div>  <form target="paypal" action="https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr" method="post"> <input type="hidden" name="cmd" value="_cart"> <input type="hidden" name="business" value="fhp@foothillspublishing.com"> <input type="image" src="https://www.paypal.com/images/view_cart.gif" border="0" name="submit" alt="Make payments with PayPal - it's fast, free and secure!"> <input type="hidden" name="display" value="1"> </form>  </div> </td> </tr></table></body>