Editor's Corner

Charles Baxter, The Soul Thief, a novel: A graduate student is drawn into a tangle of relationships that cause him to question his own identity, in Baxter’s compelling new novel. (Pantheon)

Ron Carlson, Five Skies, a novel: In Carlson’s first novel in thirty years, three men gather high in the Rocky Mountains for a construction project and end up revealing themselves in cautiously resonant, profound ways. A voice of striking intimacy and grace. (Viking)

Frank Bidart, Watching the Spring Festival, poems: In these darkly radiant poems, mortality forces the self to question the relation between the life actually lived and what was once the promise of transformation. (FSG)

Mark Doty, Dog Years, a memoir: In this radiantly unsentimental yet affecting meditation, Doty adopts a second dog as a companion for his dying partner. A moving memoir with reflections on animals and the lessons they teach us. (HarperCollins)

Mark Doty, Fire to Fire, new and selected poems: In this collection of the best from Doty’s seven books, alongside a generous selection of new work, Doty’s subjects echo and develop, his signature style encompassing both the plainspoken and the artfully wrought. (Harper)

Fanny Howe, The Lyrics, poems: With each poem a lament formed in a place of rest, this intense and vital collection responds to Howe’s long-term commitment to social justice, weaving through the inconsistencies of the human soul and the inherent violence of humans. (Graywolf)

Cornelius Eady, Hardheaded Weather, new and selected poems: This exciting new collection both delineates the arc of the poet’s universe and highlights the range of his talents with sly, unsentimental, witty poems. (Marian Wood)

Maxine Kumin, Still to Mow, poems: In her seventeenth book of poetry, Kumin’s signature nature poems are luminously invigorated by darker human realities. Potently, she focuses on myriad subjects, including the pleasures of horse keeping, Dick Cheney’s “canned hunting,” and the disappointments and joys of marriage. (Norton)

Philip Levine, Tarumba, translation of poems by Jaime Sabines, with Ernesto Trejo: Sabines is a national treasure in Mexico, and this bilingual edition presents the full power of his secretive, wild, bittersweet poems, stepping into his streets, brothels, hospitals, and cantinas. (Sarabande)