Editor's Corner

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)

Edward Hirsch, Special Orders, poems: With a mixture of grief and joy, Hirsch assesses “the major triumphs, the major failures” of his life so far, revealing a new fearlessness in confronting his own internal divisions. (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)

DeWitt Henry, Safe Suicide, essays: These interconnected essays tell the story of an ordinary man—a father of two, a husband, a long-time teacher and editor—and his extraordinary struggles for happiness and truth, offering moments of powerful insights and piercing revelations. (Red Hen Press)

Lorrie Goldensohn, American War Poetry, anthology: Covering five centuries, these fascinating poems edited by Goldensohn put into sharp relief America’s complex, conflicted, and evolving attitudes toward war. (Columbia)

Alice Hoffman, The Third Angel, a novel: Hoffman elegantly examines the lives of three women at different crossroads in their lives, tying their London-centered stories together in devastating retrospect. (Shaye Areheart)

Jane Hirshfield, After, poems: Profoundly moving, After is an extended investigation into mutability and incarnation, desire and loss, and our intimate connection with others. (HarperCollins)

Marie Howe, The Kingdom of Ordinary Time, poems: The speaker in this anticipated new volume of poems wonders: What is the difference between the self and the soul? The secular and the sacred? And how does one live in Ordinary Time-during those periods that are not apparently miraculous? (Norton)

Antonya Nelson, Some Fun, stories: The seven stories and novella in this witty, taut, and provocative collection prove to be a timely inventory of the state of family in America. (Scribner)