Editor's Corner

Campbell McGrath, Pax Atomica, poems: With singular verve, McGrath continues ever deeper into the jungle of American culture with poems that are musical, comedic, and impassioned. (Ecco)

Robert Pinsky, An Invitation to Poetry, anthology: Pinsky and co-editor Maggie Dietz’s compelling compilation of poems is accompanied by quotations from Favorite Poem Project participants, along with a DVD. (Norton)

Maxine Kumin, Bringing Together, poems: These poems from nine earlier collections crackle with intensity, offering Kumin’s refreshing and singular perspective on everyday experiences, examining the pain of loss, the idealism of youth, and the endurance of the natural world. (Norton)

Jay Neugeboren, Open Heart, memoir: In this inspiring book, Neugeboren thoughtfully recounts his emergency bypass surgery and ruminates on the state of doctor-patient relationships through discussions with four friends from high school, all prominent physicians. (Houghton Mifflin)

C. D. Wright, One Big Self, text and photographs: Wright and photographer Deborah Luster collaborate to produce intimate, haunting, and oddly gorgeous portraits of prisoners in Louisiana, giving voice to their isolation, heartache, and individualism. (Twin Palms)

Chase Twichell, The Lover of God, translations of poems by Rabindranath Tagore: The result of a five-year collaboration between Twichell and a Bengali scholar, Tony Stewart, this fascinating book offers twenty-two poems about a love affair between a young girl and the god Krishna. (Copper Canyon)

Charles Baxter, Saul and Patsy, a novel: Baxter’s luminous new novel reprises Saul and Patsy Bernstein, two of his short stories’ most beloved characters, as they try to establish their lives in Five Oaks, Michigan. (Pantheon)

James Carroll, Secret Father, a novel: Returning to fiction, Carroll presents the spellbinding story of a man and a woman in Berlin in 1961, trying to free their children from the East German Stasi. (Houghton Mifflin)

Stuart Dybek, I Sailed with Magellan, a novel in stories: In eleven achingly beautiful tales, Dybek captures the sweet rhythm and humor of growing up on Chicago’s South Side through Perry Katzek, a young Polish American. (FSG)