BOOK REVIEW

THE BIG BOOK OF NECON  edited by Bob Booth,( Forrest Hill, MD,2009, Cemetery Dance) 312 pages no cover price listed,hb ISBN 978--1-58767-202-6  andISBN 1-58767-202-2

As I am sure that many of you know NECON is a major horror/dark fantasy convention that is principally attended by horror pros and would be pros to talk about horror and dark fantasy.  There are panels, panels panels and the occasional  publisher's party. Nothing fannish, no costumes,no masquerades.  It has been held for over 30 years usually at Roger Williams University at Bristol RI.

This is a collection of stories and poetry that has appeared in Necon program books and other published Necon publications and all written by Necon participants.  I am just going to talk about the poetry.

Much of the poetry is about being at Necon and it is boring if you never been to Necon or not a convention goer to begin with then much of the poetry is forgettable.  The poetry that is not overtly Necon oriented is quite good.

There is one poem that stands head and shoulders above the rest and its by Linda Addison who doesn't even know how to write a bad poem.  Even though its about the Necon experience it is  truly about more than just that.  Her 'Dark Campers' is about the creative process that starts when writers, editors and artists come together to talk about their craft.  Three words represent the core of the poem 'we dissect dreams...'

From a poetry perspective wait until this book finds its way on remainder tables despite the Addison poem.