A DOZEN BEST BOOKS OF 2012
In our General Index
we mark our favorite new books
with a big star.
Here are twelve or so
that we found especially copesetic.

NEW REVIEWS
Following Tommy
"It's a story with
brilliant detail about prejudice,
dark life on the streets,
and truly ghastly characters ...
but as it stabs us again and again,
it gives us no relief."

American Copia
"I had my doubts
about this one when I picked it up ---
an epic on supermarkets, really! ---
but I grew rather fond of it
as I revisted it to write this review."

Battleborn
"He asked about my father.
I wanted to tell him what I told you,
but that's nothing that can't be found in a book,
a diary, a newspaper, a coroner's report."

Walking the Amazon
"It doesn't want to be
a neat river with neat borders.
It goes its own way, an oversized,
fat tumble of water that
keeps running all over the place
whenever and wherever it wants to,
ignoring all maps and predictions."

Eyewitness to World War II
"The official estimates are
62,171,600 to 78,041,700 dead,
but who is to know how many were simply burned or buried
without being counted and, as grim,
how many good souls were destroyed in heart and mind
by such a foolish confrontation of nation-states."

Resurrection Express
"The man who destroyed my life
steps out from behind the curtain,
his white suit spackled
with bright red blotches.
His eyes flare like cruel diamonds.
His smile is disgusting and final."

Ant Encounters
"You have to watch more than one ant
to learn anything about their behavior,
because of every five ants that embark on a task,
three will never manage to do it before you
get distracted or lose sight of them.
The other two might turn out
to be doing something you never thought of."

Great Reviews of the Past
Posters of the Canadian Pacific
"The Canadians always do things
more elegantly than those of us to the south.
Their use of resources is more forgiving,
their cities more inviting,
their transportation wonderful,
and certainly their manners
are more regal."

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LETTERS
Paintings from Bali

MORE LETTERS
Ferlinghetti

EVEN MORE LETTERS
The Last of the Just

YET EVEN MORE LETTERS
Cryptic Letters from Andriana
And Ms. Birdford

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ARTICLES
I Was Forcibly Sterilized
By the State of North Carolina and
All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt
"The state of North Carolina went berserk
sterilizing cripples from 1929
all the way up to 1974.
About 7,600 people were sterilized by 'choice,'
force or coercion under the authority
of the N.C. Eugenics Board."

READINGS
Right-orooni
"He does and says anything
that comes into his head.
He'll sing Cement Mixer, Put-ti Put-ti
and suddenly slow down the beat
and brood over his bongos with fingertips
barely tapping the skin as everybody
leans forward breathlessly to hear."

---

POETRY
Peanut Butter
"I am always hungry
& wanting to have
sex. This is a fact.
If you get right
down to it the new
unprocessed peanut
butter is no damn
good & you should
buy it in a jar as
always in the
largest supermarket
you know."

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A RALPH ANTHOLOGY
The Noisiest Book Review in the Known World
has just been published.
It contains 200 or so of what we believe
to be the best poems, articles, readings and reviews
from this magazine from the past eighteen years.
Here you will find all necessary information
on ordering this gorgeous two-volume set.

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THE OFFICIAL RALPH
Paradox-of-the-Month

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GENERAL INDEX
All the back-issues of RALPH,
including titles of books under review,
along with author, subject, and publisher,
plus links to readings, articles, and poems
that have appeared on-line
since 1994.

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A PITHY SAMPLE
of our most notorious reviews
as collected in the hard-copy
"FOLIO"

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T H E  F A C T S Submitting Books The best way to get books to RALPH for review. Submitting Reviews Suggestions for would-be reviewers --- and payment schedule. History RALPH didn't spring full-blown from the brows of the gods:      We've been around (in different guises) for over thirty years.      The Fessenden Fund Describing the good works of RALPH's official godparent Behind the Scenes The Faces of Those Who Make Up the Face of RALPH Copyright Notice The Reginald A. Fessenden Educational Fund, Inc. Hits 10,000 - 20,000 Daily Hits 200,000+ Original Page Views each Month

Lolita Lark, Editor-In-Chief
Post Office Box 16719
San Diego CA 92176
lolitalark@yahoo.com

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