New & Noteworthy Books
New Books from Independent &
University Presses
See full list of noteworthy books by category below
Posted on September 17, 2008
Cities
of Flesh and the Dead
Poetry by Diann Blakely
Elixir Press, July 2008
ISBN-10: 1932418261
ISBN-13: 978-1932418262
Paperback: 112pp; $17.00
Winner of the Seventh Annual Elixir Press Poetry Award and winner of the Alice Fay di Castagnola Award from the Poetry Society of America. //
With
Everything We've Got
A Personal Anthology of Yiddish Poetry
Edited & Translated by Richard J. Fein
HOST Publications, December 2008
ISBN-10: 092404764X
ISBN-13: 978-0924047640
Paperback: 218pp; $17.50
Fein introduces English-speaking audiences to some of the most poignant and passionate voices of the twentieth century. This comprehensive collection features the work of fifteen acclaimed Yiddish poets, and includes the translator's own poetic responses to their verse, and to the act of translation itself. //
The
Tsar's Dwarf
Novel by Peter H. Fogtdal
Translated by Tiina Nunnally
Hawthorne Books, October 2008
ISBN-10: 0979018803
ISBN-13: 978-0979018800
Paperback: 200pp; $15.95
Soerine, a deformed female dwarf from Denmark, is given as a gift to Tsar Peter the Great, who is smitten by her freakishness and intellect. Against her will, the Tsar takes Soerine to St. Petersburg, where she becomes a jester in his court. There, she lives a life that both compels and repels her. Soerine eventually gives in to the attentions of Lukas, the Tsar’s favorite dwarf, and carves out an existence for herself amidst the squalor and lice-ridden world of dwarfs in the early 18th century. In this inhospitable milieu, Soerine’s intelligence and detached wit provide her some small measure of protection — until disaster strikes in the shape of a priest who wants to “save” her.
Why
the Long Face?
Stories by Ron MacLean
Swank Books, August 2008
ISBN-10: 097442885X
ISBN-13: 978-0974428857
Paperback: 240pp; $15.00
A collection of fifteen stories by acclaimed author Ron MacLean. Stein and Buffy the Vampire Slayer track down the bridal party to save a Las Vegas wedding. An ambivalent geneticist disappears himself in Texas scrub country. A five-year-old in search of her lost mother walks a high-wire between her home and her lesbian neighbor's.
Family
Secret
Poetry by Rich Murphy
Finishing Line Press, 2008
ISBN-10: 1599243091
ISBN-13: 978-1599243092
Chapbook: 27pp; $14.00
Family Secret is a collection of quietly accomplished poems, some prize-winners. This is a good introduction to the poetry of Rich Murhpy.
Dying
City
Drama by Christopher Shinn
Theatre Communications Group, May 2008
ISBN-10: 1559363290
ISBN-13: 978-1559363297
Paperback: 96pp; $13.95
In Christopher Shinn's new play Dying City, a young therapist, Kelly, whose husband Craig was killed while on military duty in Iraq, is confronted a year later by his identical twin Peter, who suspects that Craig's death was not accidental. Set in a spare downtown-Manhattan apartment after dark, scenes shift from the confrontation between Peter and Kelly, to Kelly's complicated farewell with her husband Craig. Shinn's creepy, sophisticated drama-infused with references to 9/11 and the war in Iraq-explores how contemporary politics and recent history have transformed the lives of these three characters. //
Crazy
Loco Love
Memoir by Victor Villasenor
Arte Publico Press, September 2008
ISBN-10: 1558853154
ISBN-13: 978-1558853157
Hardcover: 416pp; $26.95
Growing up on his parents' ranch in North San Diego County, Victor Villasenor's teenage years were marked by a painful quest to find a place for himself in a world he didn't fit into. During his search, Victor wrangles with the usual questions of adolescence: Is it normal to think about sex all the time? Do good girls like sex? Is sex before marriage a sin? //
New & Noteworthy Books
Full list of new & noteworthy books received.
September 17, 2008
Poetry
Ace, Richard Carr (The Word Works Inc.) //
After- Dinner Declarations, Nicanor Parra (HOST Publications) //
Ben Casey Days, Rochelle Ratner (Marsh Hawk Press) //
Biogeography, Sandra Meek (Tupelo Press) //
Cities of Flesh and the Dead, Diann Blakely (Elixir Press) //
Dismantling the Hills, Michael McGriff (University of Pittsburgh Press)
Eye-sensing, David Jaffin (Ahadada Books) //
Honorary Astronaut, Nate Pritts (Ghost Road Press) //
Legible Heavens, H.L. Hix (Etruscan Press)
A Poetics of Hiroshima, William Heyen (Etruscan Press) //
A Stranger Here Myself, Niki Nymark (Cherry Pie Press) //
Chapbooks
Family Secret, Rich Murphy (Finishing Line Press)
Fiction
Aquamarine: Final Tales of the Revolution, Peter Pessl (Twisted Spoon Press) //
As a Friend, Forrest Gander (New Directions)
The Bathroom, Jean-Philippe Toussaint (Dalkey Archive Press)
Camera, Jean-Philippe Toussaint (Dalkey Archive Press)
The Family Terrorist, J.L. Torres (Arte Publico Press) //
Invite, Glen Pourciau (University of Iowa Press) //
The Man Who Loved Rilke, Eric Torgersen (March Street Press) //
One Dog Happy, Molly McNett (University of Iowa Press)
Out Loud, Anthony Varallo (University of Pittsburgh Press) //
Parabola, Lily Hoang (Chiasmus Press)
The Plain Sense of Things, Pamela Carter Joern (University of Nebraska Press) //
Songs and Stories of the Kojiki, Yoko Danno (Ahadada Books) //
The Tsar’s Dwarf, Peter H. Fogtdal (Hawthorne Books)
Why the Long Face?, Ron MacLean (Swank Books)
Anthologies
With Everything We’ve Got, Ed. Richard J. Fein (HOST Publications) //
Drama
Beauty of the Father, Nilo Cruz (Theatre Communications Group) //
Dying City, Christopher Shinn (Theatre Communications Group) //
Nonfiction
Crazy Loco Love, Victor Villasenor (Arte Publico Press) //
Hurry up and Meditate, David Michie (Snow Lion Publications) //
The Wink of the Zenith, Floyd Skloot (University of Nebraska Press) //
Archive of new & noteworthy books is here.
Page updated: November 24, 2008