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Cover art for Wild Coast by John Gimlette

Wild Coast

Wild Coast: Travels on South America’s Untamed Edge John Gimlette Alfred A. Knopf, June 2011 368 Pages $28.95 This post was written by Luke Epplin. In 2008, British travel writer John Gimlette trekked for months through the countries along South America’s northeastern rim, together known as the Guianas. Wild Coast, the resulting account of his…

Cover art for The Other Walk by Sven Birkerts

The Other Walk

The Other Walk Sven Birkerts Graywolf Press, 2011 192 pages $15.00 “This morning, going against all convention, I turned right instead of left…” This collection traveled around with me for weeks, bumping along in my bag everywhere I went. I could have read it faster; would have, if I hadn’t kept re-reading bits over and…

Cover art for Ian Holding's Of Beasts and Beings and Alexander Maksik's You Deserve Nothing

Innovators in Lit #4: Alice Sebold on Tonga Books

Tonga Books, a Europa Editions imprint, was founded in 2010. Titles published under Tonga are selected by prominent contemporary writers, and the first titles were chosen by Alice Sebold, best-selling author of The Lovely Bones, Lucky, and The Almost Moon. Tonga’s inaugural titles, Alexander Maksik’s You Deserve Nothing and Ian Holding’s Of Beasts and Beings, are…

Cover art of The Sisters Brothers by Patrick DeWitt

The Sisters Brothers

The Sisters Brothers Patrick DeWitt Ecco, April 2011 336 pages $24.99 This post was written by Lisa Peet. If the Western exists to glorify the outsider, then it should be noted that Eli Sisters, narrator of Patrick DeWitt’s terrific The Sisters Brothers, is an outsider several times over. He and his brother Charlie are already…

Bright colored dinosaur toys played out against a bright yellow background.

My Anthology: “Dinosaur” by Bruce Holland Rogers

Sometimes I daydream about putting together an anthology of my favorite short stories, kind of like a mix tape. Over the course of my blogging duties, I’m going to discuss a few of the stories that—from my experience—aren’t as familiar to readers. Whether it’s writing issues or life issues, I have given “Dinosaur” to more…

Cover art for Radial Symmetry by Katherine Larson

Radial Symmetry

Radial Symmetry Katherine Larson Yale University Press, March 2011. 96 pages $18.00 This post was written by Tory Adkisson. In her recent collection of poems, Radial Symmetry, Yale Younger Series-winner Katherine Larson examines our culture’s increasingly stark division between scientist and artist, and ultimately makes a strong case for reassessing it. A research scientist herself, Larson…