An Open Letter in Lieu of a Review: on Still Life by Jay Hopler
. . . there’s some vital aspect to a person even the approach of oblivion can’t erase.
Reviews
2652 posts
Swallowing the Darkness: Gag Reflex by Elle Nash
““i’m soft-skinned but my bones have hardened calcium deposited cartilage, the fat around my heart lithified with the carnage of constrictors around tiny mice ribs, squeezed till it removes the soft mealy insides. sucked out by standards i will never reach. by these industry snakes."
Text Colliding with Text: Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel
Much of the novel questions what constitutes a life: If it’s reduced or subverted or is itself a simulation, is it still worth living?
A Love Language for the Menstruating Body: Chloe Caldwell’s The Red Zone
Above all, The Red Zone is a story of intimacy and love, in both substance and form.
From the Archive: Propelled by Questions: Animal by Dorothea Lasky
The animal spirit of poetry brings us closer to our own humanity.
We Must Tell Stories: On Time and Water by Andri Snaer Magnason
"This monument is to acknowledge that we know what is happening and we know what needs to be done. Only you know if we did it."
From the Archive: Sketch Book Reviews: How I Became a Tree by Sumana Roy
An illustrated review of Sumana Roy’s new essay collection, HOW I BECAME A TREE!
The Experience of Someone Else’s Brain: Aaron Angello’s The Fact of Memory
. . . what does that say about us that we crave experiences with nature but do everything in our power to eradicate and tame it where we spend most of our time?
Shining a Light on Sins of the South: A Review of Han VanderHart’s What Pecan Light
In What Pecan Light VanderHart seeks to address “the white ghosts / of the South” by bringing them to the light for all to see.
A History That Looks Forward: The Dawn of Everything by David Graeber and David Wengrow
. . . there are still, and always have been, other ways [of living].
A Brutal Look at Black Girlhood: Bethany C. Morrow’s Cherish Farrah
Farrah’s not a "good" victim, but does that mean she’s not a victim? More importantly, is she allowed to be both a victim and an offender?
Quiet Revolutions: Yanyi’s Dream of the Divided Field
The speaker leaps—across the vastness of the divided field, graced with old bodies, discarded relationships—and lands.