Confession of Grief: Katie Marya’s Sugar Work
Marya’s work is a slow burn; both sweet and salty, that picks up speed and ferocity as it unfolds.
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Imagining a Worst-Case Scenario: John Vaillant’s Fire Weather
The boreal forests around the town do habitually burn, and its residents were used to seeing flames over their skies in summer months.
Animal as Metaphor: Erica Berry’s Wolfish
Living entities, with whom we cannot communicate fully, seduce us in their majesty.
Recollections of a Non-Existence: Catherine Lacey’s Biography of X
“There was no con. There was no crime. There was only fiction.”
Memory Among Landscape: Alissa Hattman’s Sift
. . . in a barren world with little protection and corners to hide, it’s also impossible to hide from our thoughts . . .
Sketch Book Reviews: Night Vision
I love it when a book forces me to reassess my thinking on a particular subject.
A Perfect Sketch of a Moment: Janet Malcolm’s Still Pictures
"Memory is not a journalist's tool. Memory glimmers and hints, but shows nothing sharply or clear."
Female Trouble: Cookie Mueller’s Walking Through Clear Water in a Pool Painted Black
If you want to evoke the idea of who someone really is, start by showing us what they see.
The No-Man’s Land Between Art and Self: Seth Rogoff’s The Kirschbaum Lectures
We look for ourselves in literature—for comfort or for guidance—but the page rarely provides a clean mirror.
Sketch Book Reviews: Poetry Unbound
I think when things in the world seem particularly bad/sad/awful, poetry can add a little light
The Sound of Home: Sonorous Desert by Kim Haines-Eitzen
. . . if we open our ears . . . we might even find ourselves feeling truly home