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A Review of Youth by J.M. Coetzee

. The story is tortuous because it reminds its readers of something that seems to go hand and hand with youth – the desire for glory, for greatness, for artistic achievement and admiration without the tedious work of application. John…

A review of Herb ‘n’ Lorna by Eric Kraft

This shift of chronological focus is similar to that found in Little Follies. There the opening stories carry Peter from toddler to a young boy of almost nine. Time then becomes elastic and – as in this book – turns…

Interview with Thomas A Williams

The author of Poet Power talks about his book, a poet’s duty to publish, about working for free, about “selling” poetry, about the best, and worst poetry readings, writing online, poetry contests, and his next book. Magdalena Ball: What inspired you…

A review of Poet Power by Thomas A Williams

If you are hording your masterpieces in a desk draw, hoping, like Emily Dickenson, to be discovered after your death, you may be doing the world a disservice. If you think that getting your poetry published is an impossible task,…

A review of The Enigma of Arrival by VS Naipaul

Neither memoir nor story, the descriptive detail is fine, but it lacks any overall movement, is slow going and painful to read, and ultimately leaves the reader with nothing more than a brief impression of the mental state of the…

A review of Step Across This Line by Salman Rushdie

The essays in this collection are, without exception, witty, intelligent, acerbic, moving, thoughtful and above all, truthful. Celebrating secular freedom of thought and speech, personal responsibility and courage, together they form a thesis. The book reads quickly, and all of…