Books

Book Review: Clive James and the Rewards of Writing Poetry

March 24, 2020
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English writer Ian Shircore’s book-length study gives Clive James’ poems the loving attention they deserve.

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Book Commentary: “Pale Horse, Pale Rider” and the Literature of COVID-19

March 21, 2020
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“The body is a curious monster, no place to live in, how could anyone feel at home there? Is it possible I can ever accustom myself to this place?”

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Book Review: “You Will Never Be Forgotten” — Curiouser and Curiouser

March 20, 2020
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Whatever might be dark about these stories may also be — since they’re reliably witty and frequently very funny — a welcome distraction and relief from current events.

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Book Review: “Tightrope” — A Wake-up Call for America

March 11, 2020
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What makes this book so necessary is that these are writers willing to state realities that members of both parties prefer to keep under the rug.

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Books Commentary: Chronicler of Boston Crime — The Case for George V. Higgins

March 5, 2020
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George V. Higgins created a style that was at first revelatory, then degenerated into a tic at the end of his career.

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Book Review: Robert Hass’ “Summer Snow” — Always Awake on the Coast

March 5, 2020
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Wherever Robert Hass is, the poet drinks in (and reports to us) the details of place and human activity.

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Book Review: “Leonard Bernstein and the Language of Jazz” — Prominent from the Start

February 25, 2020
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Perhaps the book’s most impressive accomplishment is to make a kind of systematic case for Leonard Bernstein’s larger compositional output.

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Book Review: “These Fevered Days” — Exploring an Enigma

February 19, 2020
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From the first page of Martha Ackmann’s new book on Emily Dickinson, you know you’re reading something entirely different.

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Book Review: “Weather” — Despite All the Ruckus

February 17, 2020
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There’s a funny, parabolic quality to the emotional weather in Weather — amidst all the unsettling harbingers, the sensation of being in end times, there is still love.

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Book Review: “Before the Big Bang Makes a Sound” — Poetry of Common Cause

February 16, 2020
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Carolynn Kingyens’s debut book of poems, Before the Big Bang Makes a Sound, reminds us of our everyday struggles.

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