American Midnight
Adam Hochschild’s account of America’s long-ago “midnight” has much to tell us about the politics we have inherited in our own day.
Reviewed by Robert Zaller
The Illuminated Burrow
The Illuminated Burrow: A Sanatorium Journal, written by Romanian poet and novelist Max Blecher and translated by Gabi Reigh, is a meditation on the nature of significant moments, written as the author approached his death in 1938 at the age of twenty-eight.
Reviewed by Rick Henry
Valley of the Many-Colored Grasses
Newly restored to print, Ronald Johnson’s third book of poetry shows the poet consolidating the strengths of his earlier work while foreshadowing his epic poem ARK.
Reviewed by Ross Hair
The Past Flickers in the Present: An Interview with Youval Shimoni
Israeli novelist Youval Shimoni discusses “the baggage of Jewish history,” weaving plots into long books, the power of religious narratives, his brush with filmmaking, the possibility of hope, and his award-winning new book, The Salt Line.
Interviewed by Marcus Pactor
Quarantine Highway
Millicent Borges Accardi’s new book, written in the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, shows how poetry matters during a time of crisis.
Reviewed by Hilary Sideris
Old Love Skin
Old Love Skin, an anthology edited by the Zimbabwean poet Nyashadzashe Chikumbu, sets up a discussion between modern problems and the puzzles of old Africa.
Reviewed by Mbizo Chirasha
Carnal Knowledge: Colette’s Chéri and The End of Chéri
Two recent translations of Colette’s Chéri novels offer readers the opportunity to engage them anew.
By Kevin Brown
The People Who Report More Stress
Alejandro Varela’s story collection is a motherlode of social criticism, made all the more poignant by its interwoven analysis of lust.
Reviewed by Eric Olson
Abuela, Don't Forget Me
Rex Ogle’s new memoir in verse, which explores how he persevered through abuse and poverty, is fast-paced, compelling, and appropriate for young readers.
Reviewed by George Longenecker
A Life of One’s Own: Nine Women Writers Begin Again
Joanna Biggs’s deeply felt connection to each of the writers she considers in this book revitalizes established literary lore, reframing each woman’s trajectory through personally resonant lenses of resurgence and rebirth.
Reviewed by Ellie Eberlee