Brent Cunningham, Mary Burger, Sparrow, and more...

INTERVIEWS

We Live in a Country with Maybe the Most Delicious Looking Flag of Any Nation: An Interview with Sparrow
Interviewed by Thomas Devaney
Sparrow may be one of the most touching and elusive writers in America.

Time-Stopping, Points of Friction, and Other Narrative Events: An Interview with Mary Burger
Interviewed by Kevin Kilroy
Mary Burger discusses Sonny, New Narrative, and time.

REVIEWS: POETRY

Hoops
Major Jackson
Jackson’s formal talents and lyrically spun narratives dazzle in a book that covers everything from lay-ups to po-biz. Reviewed by Lynnell Edwards

Hostile
Heather Nagami
An anomaly among first books by an Asian American poet, Hostile struggles with the very roots of unfashionable “identity work.” Reviewed by Kenny Tanemura

Bird & Forest
Brent Cunningham
Cunningham’s first collection of poems transforms itself from declarative orations to stunningly self-conscious meditations and then turns again. Reviewed by Amanda Nadelberg

The Healing Spirit of Haiku
David Rosen and Joel Weishaus
This book of reflections and haiku enhances the physical reality of the haiku experience. Reviewed by Andrew Redhead

REVIEWS: FICTION

Gate of the Sun
Elias Khoury
translated by Humphrey Davies
A Palestinian resistance fighter of the 1948 Arab-Israeli war tells stories to his dying comrade, in an effort to talk him back to life in this poetic and poignant reworking of 1001 Nights. Reviewed by Laird Hunt

Things in the Night
Mati Unt
Unt’s book does not document absurdities so much as embody them; peeking out from behind these absurdities is an ongoing critique of modern society. Reviewed by Scott Esposito

Fan-Tan
Marlon Brando & Donald Cammell
Edited by David Thomson
Follow the exciting adventures of a man named Annie, Hong Kong prisoner and pirate. Reviewed by Sam Howie

REVIEWS: NONFICTION

A Little History of the World
E.H. Gombrich
Gombrich retells for young readers the great stories of history, from the beginnings of time and civilization to the dawning age of technology. Reviewed by Kelly Everding

Rousseau’s Dog: Two Great Thinkers at War in the Age of Enlightenment
David Edmonds & John Eidinow
This is a story of two great thinkers who became close friends only to become bitter enemies. Reviewed by Allan Vorda

Neurosphere: The Convergence of Evolution, Group Mind, and the Internet
Donald P. Dulchinos
Could the World Wide Web be the next step in the evolution of consciousness? Reviewed by Nicole Duclos

Bait and Switch: The (Futile) Pursuit of the American Dream
Barbara Ehrenreich
Ehrenreich sets out to prove how hard it is to find a job in George W. Bush’s America. Reviewed by Robert J. Nebel

An End to Suffering: The Buddha in the World
Pankaj Mishra
The story of the Buddha continues to be relevant for a society constantly dealing with consumerism, militarism, and nihilism. Reviewed by Rasoul Sorkhabi

REVIEWS: GRAPHIC NOVELS

Why are You Doing This
Jason
In his first full-color work, Jason follows a cat-headed young man named Alex as he tries to discover who has framed him for the murder of his best friend. Reviewed by Yves Reisender