Book Reviews
Earthlings by Sayaka Murata
Sayaka Murata’s Earthlings (2020), translated into English by Ginny Tapley Takemori, is a slim yet eerie novel about a young woman who feels peripheral to..
Section
Non-Fiction
Showing 193-216 of 357 pieces
Creative Non-Fiction
Stage Entrance
The last acting job I had was on Late Night with David Letterman. A few months shy of my fiftieth birthday, I walked into the..
Literature
Bright Stain
As the title suggests, Francesca Bell’s debut collection of poetry, Bright Stain (Red Hen Press, 2019) is rife with complexity and nuance. A stain might..
Creative Non-Fiction
A Hard Day’s Night in Calcutta
One evening about eight Warren dropped by our apartment unexpectedly. As he walked in he said, “No surprises here: how did I know you’d be..
Music
Consciousness Amid Crisis: Elaquent’s ‘Forever is a Pretty Long Time’ and the Superiority of the Arts in Our Lives
Our longest days are barely over. What feels like a sci-fi feature set in a distant, dystopian future is the current reality for millions of..
Book Reviews
The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa
Nothing distinguishes a human being from other creatures (including other humans themselves) like memory. Each of us are unique in our experiences and their associated..
Art
This is how we kill an Artist
“The artist’s life is romantic to everyone but him.” An Artist is Born It begins, or ends like this: one day you’re in the back..
Literature
Between the Numinous and Me
Every author gets asked—cornered, perhaps—to say succinctly: What’s your book about? Two ex-cons murder a family of four in Kansas and, after the crime and..
Book Reviews
The Machine is Learning by Tanuj Solanki
The title of Tanuj Solanki’s book, The Machine is Learning suggests that this could be a book about a dystopian world commandeered by machines. It..
Cinema
Of Mothers and Daughters: Pedro Almodóvar’s Julieta and Three Alice Munro Short Stories
Pedro Almodóvar’s 20th feature Julieta (2016) stays wholly with its eponymous heroine, played by the vivacious Adriana Ugarte in her younger years and by Emma..
Literature
Everything’s Dead But the Tree: Notes on Beckett and Alzheimer’s
“That’s how it is on this bitch of an earth.” — Pozzo in Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett I read Waiting for Godot this..
Book Reviews
Extinctions By Josephine Wilson
With Extinctions, Tin House Books has published an exceptional novel, smart in so many ways. Josephine Wilson’s writing is superb, the plot refreshingly original, characters..
Book Reviews
His Father’s Disease by Aruni Kashyap
The central focus in Aruni Kashyap’s collection of short stories titled, His Father’s Disease, revolves around issues like violence against women, parental problems, the subtle..
Creative Non-Fiction
Don’t You Know You Can’t Go Home Again?
Spending nights playing with diceGoing out on moonlight nightsKeeping the festive day in honour of springPlucking the sprouts and fruits of the mango treesEating the..
Creative Non-Fiction
Love Like a Volcano
My boyfriend wasn’t much of a problem-solver, but he managed to be the person I called when I needed to solve a problem. He dropped..
Literature
The Magic & Mystery in Magical Realism
The term magic implies sleight of hand, an ability to make things appear and disappear at will. In a magic show, magicians exercise their ability..
Music
Carmen, an Essay
In Carmen even the swishes of the trousers seem orchestrated. No part of the performance is relegated indecorous or immodest. Even the most subterranean components..
Non-Fiction
How to be a Parasite
Study English and Migrate/Migrate and Study English A parasite is by its very nature a wanderer, an alien, a migrant – a creature who does..
Literature
Chitarroni and Chatwin in Patagonia
Author: Luis Chitarroni Title: From Siluetas/Silhouettes (La Bestia Equilátera, 2012) Language: Spanish (Argentina) Excerpt Length: Approx. 1,300 Words Translator: Allison A. deFreeseRights Holder: Luis Chitarroni,..
Culture
Facing Zhang Fei: Hero or Villain or Man
I’m the only foreigner on a bus from Chengdu to Langzhong Ancient Town, over three hours away north-east. A middle-aged lady, Wu Yahua, is next..
Literature
The Consolation of Joy Williams
Can we incorporate and treasure and be nourished by that which we do not understand? Of course. — Joy Williams It was a fresh day..
Literature
Holden, Charlie, and the Fight for the Coming of Age
Ally H. Campanozzi delves deep into the psyche of adolescence and sexual trauma from the eyes of Holden and Charlie.
Literature
A Light to Read By: A Tribute to William Maxwell
Gretchen Comba writes a tribute to William Maxwell and discusses how his pivotal moments take place in insignificant moments that occur after the tragedy.
Creative Non-Fiction
Sympoetics
I bought this pen (the one I am writing with now) from the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in London. It is a small pen,..