Harvard Review – 2004

The cover means to draw us in by announcing work from Jorie Graham, André Aciman, Honor Moore, Kenneth Burke and theirs is certainly worthwhile. One of the most gifted writers on place, Aciman never disappoints, and I loved this essay on New York. Moore’s piece on Lowell is marvelous—she is such a fine essayist I would read her on any subject, but she is especially satisfying when writing about other poets.

The cover means to draw us in by announcing work from Jorie Graham, André Aciman, Honor Moore, Kenneth Burke and theirs is certainly worthwhile. One of the most gifted writers on place, Aciman never disappoints, and I loved this essay on New York. Moore’s piece on Lowell is marvelous—she is such a fine essayist I would read her on any subject, but she is especially satisfying when writing about other poets. But, I was equally interested in the work of writers whose work I hadn’t known, but am glad I do now: K.E. Duffin who contributes several “short shorts” (not quite prose poems, not really sudden fiction, not essays, but almost); poets Rob Cook and Sarah White, and fiction writers Reshi P. Reddi and Muriel Mouton. Benedict Giamo contributes a brief personal essay on Kenneth Burke, a tender tribute to his teacher and a story of Burke’s, originally published in 1920, is reprinted here. “Graphics” in this issue include drawings by David Smith, woodcuts from Frans Masereel, and a fascinating series of photographs by Judith S. Larsen, “Invisible Alphabet.” The photographs are made by projecting transparencies onto human models and they “reference various cultural inscriptions, biological patterning, and diagrams made by visionaries attempting to understand the nature of our humanity and the universe in which we live.” [Harvard Review, Lamont Library, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 01238. E-mail: [email protected]. Single issue $10. http://hcl.harvard.edu/harvardreview] – Sima Rabinowitz