Reading ‘Ulysses’
James Joyce has been the perfect companion for quarantine, for his novel is both immeasurably expansive and immeasurably contained.
Lily Nilipour
‘A Nail the Evening Hangs On’: An exploration of personal and collective memory
“A Nail the Evening Hangs On” is a luminous first poetry collection from Monica Sok that deftly and lovingly weaves together fragments of Cambodian history and family memory to make some sense of a fraught past.
Snow-covered murder mystery: A review of John Banville’s new novel
As we read “Snow,” we slowly begin to wonder if Detective Inspector St. John Strafford will really solve his case. If murder will out. Or if Strafford instead will also become submerged in the snow, so prominently proclaimed as the subject of this story and yet so bewildering, so cold and so empty.
Spooky reads for Halloween in quarantine
In October, the year is waning. Time plays tricks on us in October: the daylight lessening, the nights “endless.” It is the month of hauntings too — of extended twilights and sudden changes in the wind. It marks the beginning of the period in which we recount the year that has passed us by. It is the time to remember.
‘On Lighthouses’ and the solitude of the self
Barrera announces the raison d’être of her little text: to investigate the overwhelming loneliness of the lighthouse, and, by extension, ourselves. And when else would we most relate to this proclamation, if not now?
Layli Long Soldier’s ‘Whereas’ complicates and exposes the language of resolution
“Look,” Layli Long Soldier commands us in the title of one of her poems in her book “Whereas.” When we follow her instructions, we see “the light/grass/body/whole/wholly moves,” and so on. This poem — with lines mostly consisting of one or two words and immense amounts of space between each line, while spanning over three pages — is jagged when I read it. I find myself stumbling over each line, unable to put together the image without extreme focus. I end up staring at these otherwise familiar words until they make sense. “Look,” Long Soldier commands. “I’m trying,” I gasp. “Really, really hard.”
Spooktacular Halloween reads
Reads writers gathered to discuss their favorite Halloween reads and recommendations.
Lasting notes from National Poetry Month
To celebrate the close of National Poetry Month, Reads writers gathered to rhapsodize on some of their favorite poems. Katherine Silk, Staff Writer “Daffodils” by William Wordsworth When I visited Williamsburg, Virginia, over spring break with a friend, one of the highlights for me included exclaiming in delight as I spotted patches of bright yellow…
Leaf through these refreshing March reads
For all of the constant rain showers that help grow flowers, Reads writers share some of their favorite works exploring natural phenomena and environmental change. Katherine Silk, contributing writer “Emily of New Moon” (Lucy Maud Montgomery) “Anne of Green Gables” is a classic, but Lucy Maud Montgomery’s lesser-known counterpart, “Emily of New Moon,” is an…
Reading between the lines for love
In celebration of this season of love, Reads writers share some of their favorite works that delve into the human heart and explore the depths of friendship, romance and more. Audrey Mitchell, Contributing Writer “The Time Traveller’s Wife” (Audrey Niffenegger) “Had we but world enough, and time…” The first time Clare and Henry meet…
Listening to the silence of memory in Thompson’s ‘Blankets’
There is, perhaps, a feeling like no other as the morning greets you with a world of freshly fallen snow. You open the window or the door to find that the white stretches everywhere. Sound is muffled, and nothing moves. Yet I say perhaps, because I do not know. I am from San Diego and…
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