Maria Terrone Finishing Line Press ($12) by George Guida The evil of banality lurks “like ax murderers” in a recycled cardboard takeout cup, in “Muzak . . . stuck on hiss,” on a spouse’s computer as “his eyes read the monitor / like a love letter,” and in a series of phone messages “lying in […]
René Char translated by Gustaf Sobin Counterpath Press ($15.95) by Martin Balgach It is well known that the philosopher Martin Heidegger, who wrote at length about the poet’s ability to reveal the human condition, was an admirer and friend of René Char. Char’s writing is gracefully tethered to a poetically present metaphysics—and such philosophical instincts […]
CENTURY OF CLOUDS Bruce Boone Nightboat Books ($14.95) FACE Melissa Buzzeo Book Thug ($18) by Tyrone Williams With three small books—My Walk with Bob, The Truth About Ted, and Century of Clouds—Bruce Boone established himself as a pioneer of a gay-inflected New Narrative in the 1970s and early 1980s. That Boone, New Narrative, and gay politics were […]
edited by John Lee Clark Gallaudet University Press ($35) by John Jacob In Deaf American Poetry, John Lee Clark has assembled a fascinating mix of poets who share little in common beyond the fact that they are deaf. Included is Clark's well-written introduction, which was first published in Poetry, and an Editor's Note that describes his unique […]
K. Silem Mohammad Roof Books ($13.95) by Morgan Myers With 2003’s Deer Head Nation, K. Silem Mohammad gave us the first published collection of Flarf; with The Front, he may be aiming to create the last. Not that the book makes any grand pronouncements or offers any epoch-shifting innovations—quite the opposite. Mohammad has recently promised a post-Flarf […]
by Andy Sturdevant Bird watching, like any pastime that requires a lot of quiet, solitary, repetitive behavior, comes with a degree of built-in frustration. Even under ideal circumstances—fair weather, good visibility—there’s no guarantee that a day in the field will amount to much if your subjects aren’t cooperating, and they often don’t. Birds are […]
by James Naiden This is an essay of discovery. The work of any poet is regarded, certainly esteemed, by a matter of degrees. While one may agree with Jonathan Sisson that many poets are not inclined to read poetry,1 it is also true that a few—Seamus Heaney and Thomas McCarthy (both Irish), Robert Pinsky, Louise Glück, […]
by Scott F. Parker While Mary Karr’s 1995 book The Liars’ Club is often credited with sparking the memoir boom of recent years, few of the memoirs to follow hers have lived up to its standard. What makes Karr’s writing so rich is not the stories themselves—though it doesn’t hurt that many of them are pretty wild—but […]
by Luke Sykora Witold Gombrowicz's fiction is hyperactive, grotesque, philosophical, juvenile, lyrical, serious, ironic, existential, and confrontational—in other words, it harnesses just about every technique that a fiction writer could hope to master. Milan Kundera called Gombrowicz one of the greatest writers of the last century, and Gombrowicz was a central influence on North America's […]
by Christopher Luna Part One: Michael Rothenberg’s Choose and Poetic Lineage Michael Rothenberg’s passion for poetry is complemented by a keen wit and a finely tuned bullshit detector. His collections of poetry include Man/Woman (Two Windows Press), a collaboration with Joanne Kyger, The Paris Journals (Fish Drum Press), Monk Daddy (Blue Press), and Unhurried Vision(La Alameda/University of New Mexico Press). Also a noted editor, […]