dark humor

The title of Cheryl Dumesnil's latest collection, Showtime at the Ministry of Lost Causes, is like an irresistible flashing light, letting readers know that there's dark humor to be found inside. And yes, her poems twinkle with dark humor, but they are also candidly soulful, colorful and even sweetly sexy at times. Her poem, The Gospel According to Sky, explores cloud shapes, and how "the immutable blue holds those changing shapes, like a lover who's finally learned how to love her right." My heart soars at the idea of the sky holding the clouds like they are all the pieces of its cherished

Caitlin Doughty’s memoir of her journey to becoming a licensed mortician is equal parts morbid, hilarious, inspiring and ruthlessly genuine. It’s also a memoir of her fight against the fear of death, a fight that almost destroys her. Much like the orange rot that sometimes trails our faces during death, we may never be ready to see it. But Caitlin stresses throughout Smoke Gets in Your Eyes that witnessing death is how we ready ourselves for it, and even embrace its terrible beauty.

Caitlin may be a mortician, but first and foremost she is an observer and writer, using description and self

Deadpool finally gets his due. A far cry from his last portrayal in the dreadfully off-mark X-Men Origins: Wolverine, this Deadpool is the "Merc with a Mouth."

For those unfamiliar with Deadpool, this is the story of a mercenary, Wade Wilson, who falls in love, is diagnosed with cancer, and goes off the deep end, not necessarily in that order. When his experimental "cure" leaves him looking like leftover roadkill he goes hunting for the man responsible with gleeful enthusiasm and a lot of murder.

For those familiar with Deadpool, there's a lot of little details that aren't accurate (it's not

There are some downsides to HBO’s Enlightened. It is painfully sincere. It riffs on commercialized, New Age-y self-help. It satirizes corporate America in a way that makes you wonder if it is really satire after all. But I find myself recommending the show anyway.

I haven’t really seen anything like it. I cringed a lot. I felt uncomfortable. But I didn’t stop watching. There’s a tension in the show, which totters between rage and earnestness. These extremes are broadcasted on the face of the protagonist, Amy, played by Laura Dern. Everyone is a bit of a caricature, which is the show’s main

Ceramics artist Jean Horemarsh has just spent 3 months caring for her mother who is dying of a terrible cancer. The ordeal has left her exhausted and thoughtful. After her mother dies, Jean returns to her own home and her husband, Milt who is a substitute English teacher. Jean tells Milt that she wishes she had killed her mother before she got so sick. Thus begins an idea in Jean’s mind; because no one should suffer the indignities of aging and illness like her mother did, she will give each of her friends one final, perfect moment and then, one by one, kill them.

Her friend Dorothy, married

Winner of three prestigioius awards, Holy Smoke did not disappoint. Antonio Polsinelli has worked very hard to distance himself from his Italian upbringing, living in Paris and speaking only French. But, a mystery arises from the Italian community that Antonio has escaped from, dragging him back, kicking and screaming. After his childhood friend, Dario, dies and Antionio is shot in his own apartment, he finds himself intrigued, despite his misgivings and begins to investigate just what his friend was up to. Once back in Italy, Antonio is completey involved and must see Dario's plan through to