Stalking HistoryBill VourvouliasOn Hunter of Stories. 2017. By Eduardo Galeano. Translated by Mark Fried. Nation Books. The late Uruguayan writer Eduardo Galeano made it his life’s mission to come up with an alternate history of Latin America, one that relied more on … Continue reading "Stalking History"
Look at What You’ve DoneMaryam Ivette ParhizkarI love my child but I will always love my father more. I love my child and this is why I learn to keep her good face clean. As you clean your face remember to move your hands toward your … Continue reading "Look at What You’ve Done"
from Emilie’s FlightManthia DiawaraEven with everything in such turmoil since Antoine’s body had been found on the beach, Maï was very happy that Emilie had decided to come see her. The two friends Skyped all the time, but it was the first time … Continue reading "from Emilie’s Flight"
Musical MigrancyEdward Akintola HubbardOn Cape Verde, Let’s Go: Creole Rappers and Citizenship in Portugal. 2015. By Derek Pardue. University of Illinois Press. As Europe grapples with an apparently inexorable wave of ethnic nationalist politics in response to its so-called immigrant crisis, the question … Continue reading "Musical Migrancy"
Three PoemsMark Francis JohnsonF Rations Crippled little spheriod super-capsule unsafe to outlive, the whole body the WHOLE BODY of a strong people presents you with this old gift certificate gene, we trillion as one willed it to be spliced into tin can F … Continue reading "Three Poems"
Baldwin’s FBI BluesBill V. MullenOn James Baldwin: The FBI File. 2017. Edited by William J. Maxwell. Arcade Books. “Isn’t Baldwin a well-known pervert?” So wrote FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover in a 1964 internal FBI memo, a single page in a file that extended … Continue reading "Baldwin’s FBI Blues"
Gaza FracturesBashir Abu-MannehIs there a characteristically Gazan sentence? Could it be this one from Asmaa al-Ghul’s recent short story “You and I,” published in The Book of Gaza (Comma Press, 2014): “Drops of morning dew evaporate taking the pain with them, because … Continue reading "Gaza Fractures"
“But funny how”: Richard Owens’ No ClassLukas MoeRichard Owens tells only one joke as such in No Class (Barque Press, 2012). Will you get it? Three cops walk into a bar: a dialectician an artist and a hedge fund manager. The artist says to the hedge fund … Continue reading "“But funny how”: Richard Owens’ No Class"