Inga Simpson writes books for all ages, and I’ve loved many of her books for adults, but her new book, The Peach Tree, is one of those picture books that immediately creates an impact. This is the kind of book that will become a classic and be read and re-read, kept and handed down.
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A review of What Matters in Jane Austen? by John Mullan
For me, the book resonates on a deeply personal level. Having studied Austen in graduate school, I’ve long been fascinated by the quiet radicalism beneath her polished surface. While she never staged open rebellion against Regency norms, her fiction hums with a subtle critique of its social constraints—expressed through irony, narrative silence, and the moral gravity of her heroines’ choices. Mullan illuminates this with expert precision, showing how Austen’s critical eye is woven into every level of her storytelling.
A review of It Wasn’t Easy to Reach You by Daniel Meltz
In all, Daniel Meltz accomplished what he set out to do with his collection of poems: to love, be kind, forgive, keep growing, even as an adult, and to have a dry sense of humor no matter how many times life knocks you down. I applaud him on his sincere frankness, and his book is a testament to his life.
A review of Count Luna by Alexander Lernet-Holenia
The influence of Dracula on both popular and literary culture goes on and on. That there are tons of awful movies out there, and many novels not worth mentioning, goes without saying. Yet every so often, a book comes along that is a true wonder. It glimmers with a unique identity while leaving little doubt as to its thematic pedigree. One such work is the Austrian poet Alexander Lernet-Holenia’s 1955 short novel Count Luna, which New Directions has released in a fine translation by Jane B. Greene.
A review of Through the Trapdoor by Kavita Ivy Nandan
Through the Trapdoor is full of such vivid characterisation, engaging dialogue and enjoyable plotlines around overbearing ambitions, competitive siblings, domineering parents, and the difficulty of intermarriage, that its easy to miss how powerful the statements these pieces make, but there is a strong political current that runs through the work, engaging, subtly of course as is Nandan’s way, with misogyny, binary thinking, colonialism and racism.
A review of Title: Comin’ ‘Round: Selected Writings by James Sherry
Comin’ ‘Round captures Sherry’s expansiveness, reflecting an artist’s breadth of vision, while dedicating himself to fostering literary community both in his ethos of connection through his own writing and in his support of fellow writers through his Segue reading series and publishing work. Sherry’s circularity invites, questions and encourages.
A review of Bloodmercy by I.S. Jones
Jones’s poems are all told from the perspective of either Cain, Abel, or Eve. Bloodmercy is made up of six parts, including Cain’s opening prelude. Part two is mainly in the voice of Cain, except for one poem in Eve’s voice, “Contempt Towards Eden,” which begins, “Milton gets the tale about me wrong. Paradise is boring.” Part three contains ten poems, all in Abel’s voice. Part four switches between Cain and Abel, and Eve has one poem, “First Drought.”
A review of Stars Like Salt by Cathy Altman
I love how “lacrimae rerum” opens with a visual image and immediately blends observation with emotional resonance. Like all of Altman poems the imagery is very rich and with meditative and elegiac tones. This poem creates a sense of memory beyond words.
An interview with Tom Maremaa
The author of 2088 talks about his new book and how it came about, its theme, plot, characters, how 9/11 shaped the narrative, what readers can expect from the book and more.
A review of The Heart of the Advocate by Angela Costi
I used to think that legal language was the opposite of poetic language. In her latest poetry book, The Heart of the Advocate, Angela Costi shows that this dichotomy is a false one. Drawing on her experience as a legal advocate, Costi combines legal tropes with poetic techniques to powerful effect, reclaiming what she calls “fossilised legalese” in ways that concatenates the poetic themes of memory, migration, and nostalgia with activism, injustices, and trauma.