“Shadow Man,” by Gabriel Blackwell
There’s a scene in The Maltese Falcon in which the actress Mary Astor is pretending to be a woman named Brigid O’Shaugnessy who has been pretending to someone named Ruth Wonderly,…
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“What’s to Become of the Boy?” and “The Collected Stories,” by Heinrich Böll
In one of her letters, Flannery O’Connor noted that many Catholics end up suffering as much or more from the Church itself as from those who oppose it and its…
“Stingray Clapping” by Andrew Choate
Perhaps what is most thrilling about Stingray Clapping, Andrew Choate’s enigmatic collection of tonal, non-sequitur phrases, is that the book compels the reader to imagine the amoral absurdities of phrases…
“American Mastodon” by Brad Ricca
Few poets choose to share poignant emotions with a cheeky smile and a sly wink. It is rare indeed when a poet manages to successfully blend comedy with genuine emotional…
“Unruly Voices,” by Mark Kingwell
In his home country of Canada, Mark Kingwell is something of a celebrity philosopher—a public intellectual who, in addition to writing many readable books and winning teaching accolades, makes frequent…
“Fancy Clapping” by Mark D. Dunn
How many contemporary Canadian poets can I name? Not many, which makes me feel stupid, especially since the books I have read by Canadian writers are so good. Mark Dunn…
“Things That Are,” by Amy Leach
Things That Are by Amy Leach possesses the whimsical wordplay and wonder of a Victorian fairytale. Through a series of sparkling essays, Leach enthusiastically explores the oddities of all things…
“Life Goes On,” by Hans Keilson
In late 1928, the left-wing playwright Friedrich Wolf wrote, “Let’s hope 1929 brings us plenty of struggle, friction, and sparks.” He got his wish. In 1929, the U.S. stock market…
“Many Ways to Say It” by Eva Saulitis
In her first book of poetry, naturalist and award-winning essayist Eva Saulitis explores the web of connections between nature, science, language, and the continually opening territory of the self, where…
“Collected Poems” by Jack Kerouac
You know Jack Kerouac. Everyone knows Jack Kerouac. Father of the Beat generation, though he disliked that label, author of the free thinkers bible On the Road, culture maker, lover…
“Booked: Literature in the Soul of Me,” by Karen Swallow Prior
It is a happy accident that I picked up Karen Swallow Prior’s Booked: Literature in the Soul of Me right after I had finished Norman Wirzba’s Food and Faith: A…
“Babel’s Moon” by Brandon Som
In the 2000 Chinese film, In the Mood for Love, an ancient story is shared that portends to secrets: if you have a burning secret, you must take it to…