A new collection of prose poems from the winner of the James Laughlin award

From this day, Looking ahead fourteen days will be Eduardo’s birthday. He is to be ten years old and looking anxiously to this day. He had a feeling his wish of getting a bicycle would come true. He hinted to his mother and father that it would be a great gift. A blue bike but then if it was red or green it would be all right too. His hints seemed not to be taken seriously from his mother and father. Instead, his mother thought a shirt and tie would be nice. His father jokingly thought a pair of socks would be a perfect gift. The thought was hard to bear for Eduardo. Anyway, Eduardo had his hopes high and a prayer at bedtime Just may help the cause. Being helpful around the house is a good idea too. The day finally arrived, the day Eduardo was waiting for. The gift Eduardo was wishing for, A new blue bicycle right in his sight. His prayer and dream came true. Mother, Father, and brother Roberto looked on watching All the joy Eduardo displayed. “This is great, this is really great.” That’s all Eduardo could say. For the time, it was enough to say, and it was wonderful. Without further ado, It was time to learn to ride his bicycle. Roberto is a good teacher since he already has his own bike. Roberto is two years older than Eduardo—wiser—and someone That will watch over him.

In 2015, Eduardo Berti spent several weeks in residence at the University Hospital Centre in Rouen, France, observing and conversing with the staff of its palliative care department. From that experience he created this series of lightly fictionalized testimonials from nurses, nursing aides, doctors, administrators, social workers, volunteers, and the other people who make the unit tick. The result is a distinctly intimate and often poignant portrait of sickness and care, an unflinching look at death through the eyes of the people who work with it every day - but also a profound reflection on what it means to be alive.

Magic wand? Nah, he doesn’t need it. Can fly? Only when kicked real bad in the ass. Special weapons? Yeah! Super-annihilating-fart-smelling-bomb. Magic powers? His mom gave a kit to him, as a birthday present, but he kinda messed up. Special clothes? Only his school uniform. Is part of a superhero league? Well, has his school friends. Fighting what kind of criminals? Martians, of course! They are disguised as humans and are among us. They want to conquer Earth, but he will not allow them. Along with his best friend, Eduardo, will give a good kick in the asses of the invaders, with no mercy! Invaders from Mars brings back to young readers, the pleasure of investigation and deduction, with a plot that is set in a time when there were no cell phones, to think of personal computers was science fiction and, for fun, was enough to leave home to meet friends and play ball, ride bike or... Getting into trouble! But make no mistake: this is not a book just for kids. Adults can have fun and remember your childhood days when everything was a great adventure, and there was always a mystery to decipher every corner.