After years of not using the public library, relying instead on the academic libraries of my grad schools and then of the university I taught at, I finally renewed my membership at the library in…
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Marlon James’ A Brief History of Seven Killings lives up to the promise of high energy made by its nearly lurid yellow cover. The novel, which earned a series of accolades and awards, most notably the…
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I’m unhappy with how few of the books I read this year made it into a post, even in the briefest review. But I’m busy, and I’m human, and I suppose I always try to…
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Last post of 2011, this will quickly sweep together those books I’ve finished but not responded to yet. Emphasis on “quickly”! Seymour Mayne’s Ricochet, a charming collection of word sonnets, English on one page, French…
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Just finished reading Dionne Brand’s Ossuaries, twice. That is, I finished this book-length (124 pages) poem, and turned almost immediately to the beginning to read it through again. It’s stunning, difficult, tough, uncompromising, and wildly,…
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