INTERVIEWS
To Break the Silence: An Interview with Kim Echlin
Canadian author Kim Echlin discusses her recent novel Speak, Silence, a fictionalized account of the Bosnian women who testified at The Hague about their experiences of crimes against humanity.
Interviewed by Allan Vorda
Dispatching Dispatches: An Interview with Michael Boughn and Kent Johnson
Editors of the recently decommissioned website Dispatches from the Poetry Wars, Michael Boughn and Kent Johnson, here discuss the arc of its existence during the years of Trump’s presidency and its subsequent demise.
Interview by Julien Poirier
Thought Interruptions: An Interview with Barbara Henning
Poet Barbara Henning discusses her new collection Digigram, a collection of fast-paced, autobiographical prose poems, and other projects.
Interview by Jim Feast
FEATURE
How I Became the Narrator of a César Aira Novel
Argentinian novelist Cesar Aira’s latest work in English translation, The Divorce, is now available from Chris Andrews and New Directions. In this personal essay, Kent Johnson offers a behind-the-scenes exploration of Aira’s aesthetic.
Essay by Kent Johnson
Works by Paul Celan: Memory Rose Into Threshold Speech and Microliths They Are, Little Stones
Two new translations bring Celan’s early poetry and much of his prose to English via the heroic efforts of translator Pierre Joris. Review by John Bradley
FICTION REVIEWS
Klara and the Sun
Kazuo Ishiguro
In his latest novel, Klara and the Sun, Kazuo Ishiguro discusses subjects such as the dangers of technological advancement, the future of our world, and the meaning of being human. Reviewed by Kris Novak
The Passenger
Ulrich Alexander Boschwitz
Composed in a feverish four weeks by twenty-three-year-old Ulrich Alexander Boschwitz, The Passenger mirrors the author’s experiences as a German Jew whose family fled the country after the passage of the racist Nuremberg Laws in 1935. Reviewed by Chris Barsanti
Nancy
Bruno Lloret
A speculative and poetic first novel, Chilean writer Bruno Lloret’s Nancy comprises the deathbed recollections of its title character, a widow who is dying of cancer. Reviewed by Austyn Wohlers
Cathedral
Ben Hopkins
A monumental debut novel, Cathedral constructs an edifice whose design ranges from the most sublime heights of inspiration to the most degenerate political depths, all of them counterbalancing each other to maintain their intricate facades. Reviewed by David Wiley
The Bass Rock
Evie Wyld
Evie Wyld is an author and bookshop owner in London whose latest novel, The Bass Rock, follows three women on the coast of Scotland over centuries. Review by Josh Steinbauer
POETRY REVIEWS
PUNCH
Radoslav Rochallyi
Slovak poet Rochallyi’s mathematical poetry is not only a critique of language, but also a beautiful, direct confession that tears up the metaphysical ambiguity of life. Reviewed by Andrea Schmidt
Kontemporary Amerikan Poetry
John Murillo
In his second collection of poems, Murillo reflects on coming of age and making sense of poetry while acting as a conduit for the experiences and realities of many Black Americans. Reviewed by Chaun Ballard
frank: sonnets
Diane Seuss
Diane Seuss’s fifth book of poems, frank: sonnets, offers fresh imagery as it calls out the male icons of a bygone New York scene and directly grapples with loneliness, addiction, abortion, and death. Reviewed by Meryl Natchez
Saturn Peach
Lily Wang
This mesmerizing collection offers poetry rooted in memory and reflection, inquisitive imagery, and minimalist tones. Reviewed by Greg Bem
Voir Dire
Nico Vassilakis
A pleasure to read, this collection of poems captures the delight in Vassilakis’s unpretentious, witty, and self-effacing practice.
Reviewed by Tyrone Williams
NONFICTION REVIEWS
The Shadowy Third: Love, Letters, and Elizabeth Bowen
Julia Parry
Previously unpublished, the letters between Julia Parry’s grandfather and Elizabeth Bowen chart the arc of the affair from 1930s Oxford through war-torn London. Reviewed by Elizabeth Smith
Kamala’s Way: An American Life
Dan Morain
Although political experiences are recorded in it, this is not really a book about politics—instead, it is about a woman with a talent for getting around closed doors. Reviewed by Mohd Yaziz Bin Mohd Isa
Artists in Residence
Seventeen Artists and Their Living Spaces, from Giverny to Casa Azul
Melissa Wyse and Kate Lewis
After emerging from months of lockdown, it’s interesting to see how artists like Frida Kahlo and Hassan Hajjaj shape their domestic and work spaces. Reviewed by Linda Lappin
Brazil That Never Was
A.J. Lees
As recounted here, a successful British neurologist becomes so incredibly involved in a childhood fantasy about a country far away that he simply has to take a voyage into the Amazon. Reviewed by Douglas Messerli
Yours Presently: The Selected Letters of John Wieners
Edited by Michael Seth Stewart
and
Momentous Inconclusions: The Life and Work of Larry Eigner
Edited by Jennifer Bartlett and George Hart
The worlds of poets John Wieners and Larry Eigner, both essential Black Mountain writers, are more deeply fleshed out in these two new books. Review by Patrick James Dunagan
YOUNG ADULT
Permanent Record (Young Readers Edition): How One Man Exposed The Truth About Government Spying And Digital Security
Edward Snowden
This recently released young readers edition of Snowden’s 2019 memoir cuts out all the adult “smut,” leaving a hero’s tale with all the stuff kids love in a book—adventure, fighting tyrants, young love, and moral homilies. Reviewed by John Hawkins