Return to Killybegs
The central concern of Sorj Chalandon鈥檚 novel Return to Killybegs appears to be explaining how a person of staunch political activism can be lead to betray his cause, his country, his people. Truth be told, the real theme of the book is the importance and artifice of myths and legends. In this sense, the novel鈥檚 plot, ...
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Latest Review: "Flowers & Mishima鈥檚 Illustrated Biography" by Mario Bellatin
The latest addition to our Reviews section is by Vincent Francone on Flower & Mishima鈥檚 Illustrated Biography by Mario Bellatin, translated by Kolin Jordan, and out from 7Vientos. Since the site is about a week behind in posting reviews, I thought we’d start back in with a short and sweet one by Vince. We were ...
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Flowers & Mishima鈥檚 Illustrated Biography
Despite cries that literature is dead, dying, and self-replicating in the worst way, once in a while a book comes along to remind readers that there鈥檚 still a lot of surprise to be found on the printed page. To be sure, writers such as Cesar Aria and Medbh McGuckian are doing their part to keep literature interesting and ...
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Latest Review: "Kopenhaga" by Grzegorz Wr贸blewski
The latest addition to our Reviews Section is a piece by Vincent Francone on Kopenhaga by Grzegorz Wr贸blewski, translated by Piotr Gwiazda, from Zephyr Press. Chad had previously mentioned this book of poetry in a Poland-Love post; his enthusiasm wasn’t misplaced. Wr贸blewski has a delightfully and “casually ...
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Kopenhaga
“What if even in the afterlife you have to know foreign languages? Since I have already suffered so much trying to speak Danish, make sure to assign me to the Polish zone . . .” So reads a typical aphoristic 鈥減oem鈥 in Kopenhaga by Grzegorz Wr贸blewski. I use quotation marks in an attempt to indicate that ...
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Latest Review: "My Poems Won't Change the World" by Patrizia Cavalli
The latest addition to our Reviews Section is a piece by Vincent Francone on Patrizia Cavalli’s My Poems Won’t Change the World, out from FSG. Vincent is a regular contributor here, and I can guarantee that his review will give you some great poet-poetry insight and a few laughs for this chilly Monday morning ...
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My Poems Won't Change the World
鈥淭he more bored you are, the more attached you get. I鈥檓 so bored, I no longer want to die.鈥 So reads an entire poem by Patrizia Cavalli (translated by Gini Alhadeff) confirming for many critics of poetry what they鈥檝e always believed: poets are gloomy, self-pitying bastards. *** The (incredibly exaggerated) ...
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