Reviews
2648 posts
The Hokum of Her Clothes
[O]ne of Laux’s strengths is her willingness to break through those poetic walls so many of us construct. She seems to want no distance between herself and her reader.
In This Light
In This Light, a collection of Melanie Rae Thon’s short stories, shows the writer’s shifts in the last twenty years, while reminding us of her powerful, haunting storytelling.
The Patron Saint of Bad Marriages and Atomic Bombs in Peace Time
Reese’s poems…often bless the patience and attention of the reader by not demanding it.
Embassytown
China Miéville’s latest genre-bending book, Embassytown, unites science fiction and heady wordplay in a universe literally constituted by language.
Romanticism
The poems in April Bernard’s Romanticism feel more complete, somehow, for the fact that they each align their focus on objects which, on multiple readings, still seem to have no…
America Pacifica
In a skillfully crafted post-apocalyptic world, Darcy, our young hero, searches for her missing mother in Anna North’s debut novel America Pacifica.
My America Isn’t On a Staid Map
Rane Arroyo’s character shines through in the amazing White as Silver collection, and will be clarified continuously as his vast trove of unpublished work begins to come to light.
I Am Haunted By Lilacs
In Linda Pastan’s thirteenth book of poetry, Traveling Light, we enter into themes of aging, dying, time’s ticking clock, and the natural world.
Bright Before Us
In Katie Arnold-Ratliff’s debut novel, Bright Before Us, we watch our unlikeable but sympathetic narrator Francis Mason tumble into responsibility and adulthood.
The Great Frustration
Seth Fried’s debut collection The Great Frustration mixes and matches his gonzo hijinx with a deft emotional darkness.
So This Is It…So This Is It
Adam Zagajewski’s work is both a course in Mysticism for Beginners and a record of Eternal Enemies.