Reviews

The Songwriter as Poet. A Conversation with Phil Elverum(Part Two)

The Songwriter as Poet. A Conversation with Phil Elverum(Part Two)

Jon Hoel: The natural world is pretty frequent in your work over the years; in these recent poems, though, there are two terms specifically I wanted to ask you about, “decolonization” and “land back.” Both are ideas many people are likely familiar with, but some might not be. I was curious what . . .

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Everyday Magic: Ayşegül Savaş’s The Anthropologists

Everyday Magic: Ayşegül Savaş’s The Anthropologists

A Review of Ayşegül Savaş’s The Anthropologists (Bloomsbury, 2024) “The green jacket, the ceremonial stones, breakfast with Manu, the Dame on the terrace, and the shapes of poems,” goes Ayşegül Savaş’ magpie-like narrator Asya as she meticulously collects objects and moments with her partner Manu to build their nest, two ex-pats in an unnamed . . .

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The Songwriter as Poet. A Conversation with Phil Elverum (Part One)

The Songwriter as Poet. A Conversation with Phil Elverum (Part One)

Phil Elverum, photo by Katy Hancock Poems are songs, songs are poems. This dictum may infuriate anyone who has ever penned an editorial on Leonard Cohen’s songs or anyone who was irate when the Nobel committee declared Bob Dylan was literature. Those familiar with the history of songwriting, however, might be inclined . . .

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A Return to My Native Country

A Review of Fadi Azzam, Huddud’s House. Translated by Ghada Alatrash. Northampton: Interlink Publishing, 2024.   What does it mean to truly belong? Is it the soil beneath our feet? Or is it the echoes of our memories, the whispers of our ancestors, and the silent pull of our heritage? In a world fractured . . .

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Despite the Storm, Sikander’s Witness Stands Tall

Photograph of Witness. Courtesy of the Author. “What’s the problem of women? Knowledge! What’s the problem of women? Their head, that’s why they want to cut their head.”—Nawal El Saadawi In the early morning of July 8, as Hurricane Beryl cast the coast of Texas in darkness and disarray, a statue was beheaded on . . .

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Three for the Fourth

From the mountains and prairies, to ocean’s white foam:Hail the beers of America. Let your tastes roam!‘Twixt Atlantic, PacificCome brewers prolificWith tributes for toasting this spacious-skied home. So gallantly streaming, beers pourInto glasses and cups for the Fourth.From the crisp, from the tart,to the hoppy—the heartOf the country pumps out brews galore! . . .

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