Rayz Reviewz Volume 3, Number 3
 
In this issue, I begin with a discussion of some recently received publications and end with a view of the night sky in March.
 
Penguin released David George Haskell’s third book, Sounds Wild and Broken, on March 1, and I received my pre-ordered copy on March 3. In 2012, Haskell broke into the world of literary naturalists with his first book, The Forest Unseen: A Year’s Watch in Nature, a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. In 2017 he continued to inspire readers with The Songs of Trees, for which he won the John Burroughs medal, an award given for distinguished nature writing. Sounds Wild and Broken introduces the reader to the vanishing sounds of nature and is sure to continue his success. Haskell is a professor at the University of the South.
 
A few weeks ago, I received a copy of Rhythm of the Ink – The First Wave by Markey Mark Symmonds, a British author. After a diagnosis of dyslexia and dysgraphia at age 46, Mark returned to college and passed the English proficiency test that had been an obstacle to him years ago. Five of the poems are about dyslexia though the final of these five examines success. A few are about being bullied. All of the poems show Markey Mark Symmonds demonstrating his mastery of the craft of poetry.  
 
Congratulations to the following Chattanooga area authors for publishing books of poetry:
Kelly Hanwright, The Locust Years
Rachel Landrum Crumble, Sister Sorrow, Finishing Line Press
Christian Collier, The Gleaming of the Blade, Bull City Press
Helga Kidder, Learning Curve, Blue Light Press
KB Ballentine, Edge of the Echo, Iris Press
 
The Night Sky
Canis Major is high in the South early in the evening, with Canis Minor above and to the left. Taurus and Orion have moved off to the West, and Leo is rising in the east. The bright stars Sirius in Canis Major, Procyon in Canis Minor, and Betelgeuse in Orion comprise the winter triangle. The Big Dipper stands on its handle in the north.
Venus dominates the morning sky just before sunrise, flanked by Mars and Saturn.
The next meteor shower is the Lyrids which will peak on April 21.
The moon was new on March 2 and will be full on March 18.
 
Resources
StarDate https://stardate.org/
Earth and Sky https://earthsky.org/
Astronomy Magazine https://www.astronomy.com/
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