There are cameras in the cacti, drones in the sky, motion sensors buried in the ground: a Panopticon without limit or form.
Review: Heartland by Sarah Smarsh
As Smarsh unfolds her family's story, she offers sharp commentary on the structures that both shame the poor and perpetuate the cycle of poverty.
Review: Good and Mad by Rebecca Traister
The book’s final line is a warning as much as an entreaty: “Don’t ever let them talk you out of being mad again.”
An Honest Assessment
Injuries accreted. Bones were broken. And yet, I always recovered. Until I did not.
Defining Veteran Identity in the Age of the Forever Wars
Matthew Komatsu traces the changing sense of veteran identity in the United States, from Vietnam to Afghanistan and Iraq.
Complexity and Ambiguity: An Interview with Chelsea Hodson
In this interview, Chelsea Hodson, author of Tonight I'm Someone Else, speaks about writing from the self and interrogating ideas.
Review: The Condition of Secrecy by Inger Christensen
Inger Christensen’s poetic hypothesis houses the intimacy between an arrangement of the poem and content to curate layered meaning.
Into Another World: An Interview with John McPhee
John McPhee reflects on the panic, procrastination, and prolific output behind his celebrated approach to nonfiction writing.
A Purple State
Pittsburgh is a blue city nestled in the red part of a purple state. A political bruise.
Review: The Shell Game Edited by Kim Adrian
If good creative writing sparks the instinct to write, The Shell Game provides ample embers to inspire a wide range of writers.
Our Lady of the Snows
Constantly shifting my interests trying to mirror those of the men, I no longer knew who I was without pretending or playing games.
Review: Call Them by Their True Names by Rebecca Solnit
In her new collection, Rebecca Solnit bravely tackles the American crises that imperil our humanity as well as our survival.