A review of Red Camaro: Poems by Dwaine Rieves

Rieves knots subjects together: moments of closeness, lack of friendship, learning to tie knots, rain, what the Bible says, pitching tents, sounds of rain. Thoughts do not happen in isolation; one leads on to others concerning a gesture, an action, a sight. In Rieves’ poetry, the reader’s mind travels with him. Is this “free association?” It is an exploration of a poetic mind, a mind that observes objects, places, people, and itself.

A review of Chronicle of Drifting by Yuki Tanaka

Tanaka, who teaches literature at Hosei University in Tokyo, teases out the etymologies of Japanese words throughout. “Two words for ‘heart.’ Kokoro means heart in a moral, spiritual sense,” he writes in one of the “Chronicles of Drifting” prose fragments, “it never refers to the organ. Shinzo, it always does.”

A review of A Line You Have Traced by Roisin Dunnett

n a future where drones diagnose humans, parakeets freely soar, and bananas are a rare delicacy, the idea of altering past events and shaping a better future for everyone captivates the reader. Ess, a member of a network preparing for the end of human life on earth, is primed to travel into the past to help save the present, quietly battling the novel’s villain: the dark side of our collective humanity and the ghosts of what might have been.

A Conversation with Richard Martin

I’ve been fascinated by Martin’s work since we first met in the mid 1980s. His observations are probing without condescension, and his special brand of humor highlights the peculiarities of human nature as well as the mysteries of the world. He is prolific but never redundant. Given the particularly turbulent state of the world currently, I believe his work is extremely relevant, and readers can benefit greatly from his insights.

A review of Essence By Thuy On

The short poems throughout Essence work perfectly for the discrete subject matter and are easy to read, but the simplicity belies the depth of this work or the way it interrogates language and the impact it has. Readers will enjoy the many literary references and links throughout the book, and the way in which On collates external sources with a sensual framework. Essence is a pleasure to read, beautifully written, funny and often deeply moving.

Of Loyalty to Father & Country: A review of At the Edge of Empire: A Family’s Reckoning with China Edward Wong

The reader is in the hands of a writer and scholar whose last twenty years have been dedicated, it would seem, to gathering and sorting material to offer the reader a powerful view into a highly complex culture and nation. Motivated, it would seem, by a profound interest of his own, Wong writes, as it has been noted elsewhere, almost as filial duty to a father whose loyalty to his country was betrayed by its leaders.