Luis González Palma, Paul Metcalf memorial, Twisted Spoon Press, and more...

INTERVIEWS

An interview with Luis González Palma
Interviewed by Elizabeth Culbert
Guatemalan photographer Luis González Palma creates expressive works of art that are often about contradiction. Elizabeth Culbert speaks with him about his themes and obsessions.

FEATURES

Paul Metcalf (1917-1999)
Essay by Allan Kornblum
Allan Kornblum talks about the life and work of this great American original.

Twisted Spoon Press
Essay by David Auerbach
A profile of Twisted Spoon Press, the premier publisher of lost Czech literature.

REVIEWS: NONFICTION

Julien Levy: Portrait of an Art Gallery
Edited by Ingrid Schaffner & Lisa Jacobs
The infamous Julien Levy gallery home to Salvador Dali, Joseph Cornell, Max Ernst, Frida Kahlo, and others is profiled in this new book. Reviewed by Anna Reckin

The Double Vision of Star Trek: Half-Humans, Evil Twins & Science Fiction
Mike Hertenstein
Does Star Trek harbor a secret religious agenda? Mike Hertenstein offers a Christian deconstruction of Star Trek. Reviewed by Rudi Dornemann

Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader
Anne Fadiman
In these 18 essays, Anne Fadiman examines the joy of books and the memories and personalities created through reading. Reviewed by Deborah J. Safran

Hip Hop America
Nelson George
Nelson George examines hip-hop's influence on American culture. Reviewed by Peter Wardrip

Invisible New York: The Hidden Infrastructure of the City
Stanley Greenberg
& Railroad Voices
Linda Niemann & Lina Bertucci
Photographer Stanley Greenberg documents the unknown places of New York City, while Linda Niemann and photographer Lina Bertucci collaborate to produce an honest and intimate portrait of one of America's most vital infrastructures—the railroad. Reviewed by C. K. Hubbuch

Grown Up All Wrong
Robert Christgau
Village Voice music editor Robert Christgau hacks his way through the history of rock and roll. Reviewed by Brian Beatty

REVIEWS: GRAPHIC NOVELS

Split-Level Dykes to Watch Out For
Alison Bechdel
The most recent collection by savvy cartoonist Alison Bechdel, known for her strip-sized segments that appear weekly in alternative newspapers across the country. Reviewed by Pat Carlin

REVIEWS: FICTION

Little Red Riding Hood in the Red Light District
Manlio Argueta
In this innovative, political novel, Manlio Argueta creates the poignancy and desperation of two lovers caught in El Salvador's deadly civil strife. Reviewed by Susan Swartwout

Thirst
Ken Kalfus
In this collection of stories, Ken Kalfus brings together a stunning variety of places, times and characters, weaving a rich and complex picture of the human soul in its most vulnerable predicament. Reviewed by Christopher M. Worth

The Sensualist
Barbara Hodgson
The Sensualist fulfills its title first and foremost in the physical book itself—beautiful to look at and to hold, with the cover, dust-jacket, and even endpapers a field of enigmatic illustrations. Reviewed by Rachel Pollack

A Good Cuntboy is Hard to Find
Doug Rice
Doug Rice undertakes the formidable project of re-situating literary history within a transgressive landscape. Reviewed by Emily Streight

REVIEWS: POETRY

Science & Steepleflower
Forrest Gander
Forrest Gander's poems capture in precise detail the splendor of the world, and "the rawness of the looking." Reviewed by Peter Gurnis

Deepstep Come Shining
C. D. Wright
In her compelling new volume, C. D. Wright returns to an "other" South and observes, spies, writes, imagines. Reviewed by Mark Nowak

Aniara: An Epic Science Fiction Poem
Henry Martinson
Henry Martinson accomplished what many would think impossible--a literate yet accessible epic science fiction poem that warrants close attention by those interested in either the outer reaches of SF writing or the inner reaches of poetry. Reviewed by Alan DeNiro

Artificial Heart
Peter Gizzi
Peter Gizzi's new collection is a carefully chiseled book of poetic wonders. Reviewed by Ruth Andrews