Irvine Welsh, Stephen Vincent, Mary Ann Caws, Cesar Vallejo, and more...

FEATURES

An Ego Strong Enough to Live: Translating César Vallejo
Essay by Clayton Eshleman
Clayton Eshleman discusses the psychic struggle and lasting impact of translating Vallejo's uniquely challenging work.

INTERVIEWS

The "C" Word: Chef? An Interview with Irvine Welsh
Interviewed by Emily Cook and Eric Lorberer
Welsh extrapolates on the many questions his latest book raises—questions of Scottish identity, feminism, witchcraft, and why Americans find the word "cunt" to be offensive, among other things. Answers best read in Scottish brogue.

A Walk with Stephen Vincent
Interviewed by Francis Raven
An influential presence in the poetry scene of San Francisco, Stephen Vincent has been publishing his poetry since the 1960s and is the former editor and publisher of Momo's Press.

The Glories of Eccentricity: A Conversation with Mary Ann Caws
Interviewed by Matthew Cheney
Caws maintains that for her the term eccentric is “an approbation rather than a criticism” and “the very opposite of pejorative."

REVIEWS: FICTION

The Pesthouse
Jim Crace
In his latest novel, this English author of “hallucinatory skill” imagines a bleak future for America. Reviewed by Kelly Everding

Bed
& Eeeee Eee Eeee
Tao Lin
A novel and a collection of short stories mark a dual fiction debut for this ironic/earnest nihilist/moralist. Reviewed by Spencer Dew

Adam Haberberg
Yasmina Reza
A solemn and alienating tone permeates this new novel from the playwright of Art. Reviewed by Ryan Rase McCray

The Lives of Mapmakers
Alicia Conroy
A short-story collection that imagines worlds of loss and uncertainty in beautifully woven narratives. Reviewed by Katie Harger

The Golem: And the Wondrous Deeds of the Maharal of Prague
Yudl Rosenberg
In this first complete English translation of the classic tales, a Jewish history lesson comes in the form of entertaining fables. Reviewed by Jessica Bennett

Potato Tree
James Sallis
In this impressive story collection, inanimate objects come to life, jaguars haunt bedrooms, and orchids compose epic poetry. Reviewed by Morris Collins

Getting to Know You
David Marusek
Thirteen years in the making, this collection of short stories and novellas attest to the Alaskan science fiction author’s meticulousness. Reviewed by Rod Smith

Sharp Objects
Gillian Flynn
The gritty particulars of a small Missouri town provide more than enough horror in this novel, even if there were not a killer on the loose mutilating young girls. Reviewed by Spencer Dew

REVIEWS: YOUNG ADULT

The Mislaid Magician or Ten Years After
Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer
The third novel in an epistolary series revolves around the conflicts between magic and railroads. Reviewed by William Alexander

REVIEWS: NONFICTION

White Bicycles: Making Music in the 1960s
Joe Boyd
The legendary producer, who worked with everyone from Muddy Waters to ABBA, debunks the alleged irrelevance of an era. Reviewed by Mark Terrill

American Artists, Jewish Images
Matthew Baigell
The foremost scholar of 20th century Jewish art offers an introduction to a still emerging field of study. Reviewed by Daniel Morris

Pushing Ultimates: Fundamentals of Authentic Self-Knowledge
Lew Paz
A philosophical travelogue provides modern-day encouragement for those seeking enlightenment. Reviewed by Jaye Beldo

The End of the Line: How Overfishing is Changing the World and What We Eat
Charles Clover
A journalist and sports fisherman sounds the alarm about the perilous state of the world's fish supply. Reviewed by Ryder Miller

This Year You Write Your Novel
Walter Mosley
Just as the title of this book can be read as motivation or punishment, this “how-to” book can also be read as a “don’t-hold-your-breath” guide to imperfection. Reviewed by Kevin Carollo

The Colorful Apocalypse: Journeys in Outsider Art
Greg Bottoms
In this travel narrative exploring the Outsider Art of the South, Bottoms sets out on a search for the whereabouts of the micro-thin, semi-permeable membrane separating religious ecstasy and madness. Reviewed by Eliza Murphy

REVIEWS: GRAPHIC NOVELS

Casanova
Matt Fraction and Gabriel Bá
Image Comics presents the first installment of this high-energy mash-up that reads like a comics version of Sgt. Pepper. Reviewed by Rudi Dornemann

Alias the Cat
Kim Deitch
A post-modern graphic memoir that's laugh-out-loud funny from the author of Boulevard of Broken Dreams. Reviewed by Todd Robert Peterson

Stop Forgetting to Remember: The Autobiography of Walter Kurtz
Peter Kuper
In this self-parody of a cartoonist’s life, Kuper presents himself as alter-ego Walter Kurtz in a face-to-face dialogue with the reader. Reviewed by David A. Beronä

REVIEWS: POETRY

The Ecstasy of Capitulation
Daniel Borzutzky
The second collection from Daniel Borzutzky energetically satirizes and lampoons politics and convention. Reviewed by Vincent Czyz

Dérive
Bruna Mori, paintings by Matthew Kinney
Lyrically mapping New York City's “psychogeographical contours,” Mori teaches us Debord's lessons of drifting. Reviewed by Craig Perez

Radish King
Rebecca Loudon
Musician-poet Loudon crafts poetry of dark rhythms that is both frustrating and compelling. Reviewed by Rebecca Weaver

Bone Pagoda
Susan Tichy
In her first collection in twenty years, Tichy investigates the narratives of the Vietnam War. Reviewed by Nancy Kuhl

Sightings: Selected Works
Shin Yu Pai
A selection from an accomplished younger poet demonstrates her intimate and fierce poetics. Reviewed by Lucas Klein

Broken World
Joseph Lease
Musical poetry on discordant themes from a writer influenced by Whitman and Kabbala. Reviewed by Noah Eli Gordon

The Wife of the Left Hand
Nancy Kuhl
The poet's first full-length collection delivers well-crafted “dramas of desire and repression.” Reviewed by James Berger

Way More West: New & Selected Poems
Ed Dorn
This collection solidifies Dorn’s status as a significant and controversial poet whose voice is still relevant and resonant today. Reviewed by Mark Terrill