The Yale Review – Spring 2004

The latest issue of this venerable publication is a pleasure. The latest issue of this venerable publication is a pleasure. The Yale Review is one of the most consistent journals in every department. The two standouts here are Mark Wisniewski’s narrative-splicing tale of office drama, and Lydia Davis’ discussion of the tribulations of her new translation of Proust. There is plenty of other inventive writing to be had as well. I was tempted to scribble down some aphorisms from James Richardson’s “Vectors”: “20. Ax built the house but sleeps in the shed…. 27. We trust the embarrassed one. He believes the world is thinking of him more than it is. But at least he believes in the world.” Willard Spiegelman’s memoir of an English teacher learning to get down with his bad self was quite entertaining. Also included are a couple of letters from readers in faraway places, which are really essays unto themselves on the state of being elsewhere. William Gaddis, Marianne Moore and Charles Ives find themselves reviewed. [http://www.yale.edu/yalereview/] – TW