Poet Jenny Qi on what shapes her work
FROM THE CHAPTER 16 ARCHIVE: This interview originally appeared on February 7, 2022. *** An accomplished poet and essayist, Jenny Qi brings a complex perspective to her writing. She’s the…
A new biography limns the life of musician and artist Terry Allen
In 2016, days after iconic songwriter Guy Clark died, a posse of his peers converged on Terry Allen’s house in Santa Fe. Their last names speak to the caliber of…
Rebecca Makkai’s I Have Some Questions for You alternates between the #MeToo present and a 1990s mystery
Bodie Kane, the narrator of Rebecca Makkai’s I Have Some Questions for You, knows firsthand that media and audiences have insatiable appetites for stories about the deaths of attractive women….
In Edgar Kunz’s Fixer, plain language makes way for depth of meaning
FROM THE CHAPTER 16 ARCHIVE: This review originally appeared on October 4, 2023. *** “Zippo with a carving of a whale, / proud ship in the distance.” Zippo. A common,…
Claire Jiménez’s debut novel explores the impact of a family tragedy
…readers, agents, editors. Here, too, is the author’s thanks to friends and loved ones, with the last words usually considered the place of highest honor. Consider then how Vanderbilt M.F.A….
Stories from the Tenants Downstairs explores a place that’s both hell and home
FROM THE CHAPTER 16 ARCHIVE: This review originally appeared on August 15, 2022. *** Sidik Fofana’s Stories from the Tenants Downstairs, a debut collection of linked stories, emerges from a…
