Poetic Fables and Guarded Secrets in “The Lost Shtetl” – Chicago Review of Books

Poetic Fables and Guarded Secrets in “The Lost Shtetl” – Chicago Review of Books

[ad_1] Deep in the forests of eastern Poland, the town of Kreskol lies forgotten. Through an improbable combination of bureaucratic negligence, unfriendly relations with other Jewish towns, and favorable geography, the Jews of Kreskol — the world’s last shtetl — have escaped the great onslaughts of the twentieth century (the Great War; the Holocaust; Polish … Read more

Sonic Relationships and Semantic Rhythms in “Field Music” – Chicago Review of Books

Sonic Relationships and Semantic Rhythms in “Field Music” – Chicago Review of Books

[ad_1] Alexandria Hall’s National Poetry Series-winning book, Field Music, possesses a poetic maturity born less from extensive experience than from piercing vision and sensitivity. Hall, a finalist in the 2018 “Narrative 30 Below Contest” has lived some, undoubtedly, but somehow manages to sidestep the typical language registers of youth—the naiveté, the callowness, the arbitrary ambiguity. … Read more

Joy Harjo on the Power of Poetry, and on Building a Comprehensive Canon of Indigenous Poems – Chicago Review of Books

Joy Harjo on the Power of Poetry, and on Building a Comprehensive Canon of Indigenous Poems – Chicago Review of Books

[ad_1] “It is poetry that holds the songs of becoming, of change, of dreaming, and it is poetry we turn to when we travel those places of transformation, like birth, coming of age, marriage, accomplishments, and death. We sing our children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren: our human experience in time, into and through existence.” So begins the … Read more

A Planet Built for Three in “Earthlings” – Chicago Review of Books

A Planet Built for Three in “Earthlings” – Chicago Review of Books

[ad_1] Society is one of these concepts we might fail to adequately define, but we all know what it means. Ironically, even more universal than this implicit understanding is the feeling that one just does not belong. This is certainly a feeling familiar to Sayaka Murata, and it’ll be familiar to readers of her first … Read more

The Anxiety of the Unknown in “Leave the World Behind” – Chicago Review of Books

The Anxiety of the Unknown in “Leave the World Behind” – Chicago Review of Books

[ad_1] In our overly connected world, it is a rare moment to not have all the information. We feel more secure with the constant feed of data, even when that information foretells doom and gloom. Rumaan Alam plays on our anxiety of the unknown in his third novel Leave The World Behind, a fast-paced and … Read more

Announcing the 2020 CHIRBy Awards Shortlist – Chicago Review of Books

Announcing the 2020 CHIRBy Awards Shortlist – Chicago Review of Books

[ad_1] For the fifth year in a row, the Chicago Review of Books is thrilled to present the CHIRBy Awards to recognize the best fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and short essays published by Chicago-based writers. Below are the finalists in each category for 2020, along with a list of this year’s judges. Congratulations to all of these incredible writers! … Read more

Copies and Originals in “A Lover’s Discourse” – Chicago Review of Books

Copies and Originals in “A Lover’s Discourse” – Chicago Review of Books

[ad_1] Can people in love ever really understand one another? That is the question at the center of Xiaolu Guo’s latest novel, A Lover’s Discourse. The titular lover is an unnamed woman from southern China, newly arrived in London to complete a Ph.D. program. She develops a relationship with a German-Austrialian landscape architect, also nameless … Read more

READING SLUMPS (& how to get rid of them)

READING SLUMPS (& how to get rid of them)

[ad_1] Rating: 4.95/5 Get Audible now: [email protected] Business contact: [email protected] Book Depository: http://www.bookdepository.com/?a_aid=abookutopia Merch: www.society6.com/abookutopia PO Box address (NOT MY HOME ADDRESS): Sasha Alsberg PMB 114 825 Waukegan Rd. A8 Lake Forest, IL Website: www.abookutopia.com Instagram: @sashaalsberg, @outlanderlassie & @theshadowhunters Twitter: @sashaalsberg KIK: @theshadowhunters Tumblr: http://theshadowhunt.tumblr.com Views: 271134 Likes: 10749 Dislikes: 100 [ad_2] source

Immortality and Remembrance in “The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue” – Chicago Review of Books

Immortality and Remembrance in “The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue” – Chicago Review of Books

[ad_1] I’m tempted to say the modern idea of genre is a joke, except that it’s not funny. A sincerely curious, skilled, and committed writer can basically write whatever she wants, genre be damned. Yet certain genres are still elevated and others dismissed; the New York Times “By the Book” feature still regularly asks writers … Read more

Journeys of Self-Discovery in “Bad Tourist” – Chicago Review of Books

Journeys of Self-Discovery in “Bad Tourist” – Chicago Review of Books

[ad_1] Suzanne Roberts’ most recent memoir, Bad Tourist, will come as a delightful surprise to readers as she merges all of her writing strengths: a travel writer’s adventures, a memoirist’s insight, and a poet’s ear for language. Roberts, an accomplished travel writer, was named “The Next Great Travel Writer” by National Geographic Traveler magazine, and her previous book Almost Somewhere; Twenty-Eight Days on … Read more