The Art of the Poetic Line, criticism by James Longenbach (Graywolf): James Longenbach’s The Art of the Poetic Line is a very legible book that manages to pack much wisdom and complexity into a relatively small space—which is, of course, what we expect from the best poetry itself. A poet achieves such condensation by making…
Thomas Lux, God Particles, poems: A satiric edge cuts through many of the poems in this new collection, with unexpected moments of grace instilling even the darkest moments with surprising sweetness. (Houghton Mifflin)
Philip Levine recommends Astoria, poems by Malena Mörling: “In a poem by Malena Mörling the reader is taken on trips never bargained for: time may be compressed, action go in reverse; in the blink of a line you can move from Grand Central Station to a design on wallpaper, and yet when you finish the…
Bang Crunch, stories by Neil Smith (Vintage): Most literary trends produce both brilliant and unfortunate incarnations, and the "quirky fiction" school is no exception. The less successful manifestations of this trend toward off-kilter fictional realities seem to embrace weirdness for the sake of weirdness, to privilege style over substance, while the more memorable works…
Campbell McGrath, Seven Notebooks, poems: These seven poetic sequences examine—in forms ranging from haiku to prose, and in a voice veering from incantatory to deadpan—the world as it is seen, known, imagined, and dreamed. (Ecco)
Rita Dove, American Smooth, poems: The poems in Dove’s gorgeous eighth collection move through history, music, war, and motherhood in an ever graceful choreography. (Norton)
Maxine Kumin recommends As When, in Season, by Jim Schley: “This is the executive director of The Frost Place’s first collection of poems and represents years of composing and revising. The centerpiece, an inventive series of odes to the muses, displays Schley’s literary insights and his musical gift with language.” (Marick)
Sue Miller, The Senator’s Wife, a novel: In this rich, emotionally urgent novel, two women at opposite stages of life face parallel dilemmas. (Knopf)
George Garrett, Empty Bed Blues, stories: The fifteen stories in Garrett’s thrilling collection are deeply concerned with the old verities of love and death. (Missouri)
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