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A review of Music’s Spell by Emily Fragos

You will find it difficult to decide on favourites herein. Close to the top must come David Wojahn’s poem about the meeting between Dylan and Woody Guthrie at the Brooklyn State Hospital. Then there is Tomas Transtromer’s poem about Haydn (‘Allegro’), which is quite sublime.

Interview with Ouyang Yu

The author of On the Smell of an Oily Rag talks about his latest book, about the “pen-notes fiction” genre he uses, perhaps for the first time in English, the value of fragments, his feelings towards Australia, forthcoming work, and more.

A review of On the Smell of An Oily Rag by Ouyang Yu

Ouyang Yu is a poet who works the gap between languages, looking closely at our linguistic assumptions, etymologies, and correspondences. His latest book is a nonfiction created in a pen-notes style (biji xiashuo) inspired by ancient Chinese fiction.

A review of Look at Me Now by Thomas J. Hubschman

The book is rich with the New York City setting, from exhibitions at the Public Library and the Whitney museum, to the office blocks and cafes across Fifth Avenue, through the Upper West Side. Hubschman really knows these streets.

A review of Just Kids by Patti Smith

The book is written simply, with a tender humility that shines the light on Mapplethorpe and other tragic geniuses of that era, tracing their guiding hunger, their successes, and ultimate failures. The book isn’t sad though—it’s transcendent. Smith is the survivor, her story extending well beyond the pages of the book.

A review of Time’s Arrow by Martin Amis

Time’s Arrow is a brilliant work, in my opinion. In the first place, the time-reversal is done with great skill; and on this level, Time’s Arrow is certainly a tour de force. But I think the book is much more than that. The writing is powerful.

A review of Without Hesitation by Mark Rosendorf

Rosendorf has again crafted a properly delivered spine tingling work filled with twists and turns, characters who appear as they are not, and others who perform as expected. Locales are well detailed, action is intense, red herrings are tossed in to create some unexpected situations and turn arounds.