Category Archives: Books That Come My Way

On Reading Max Turns Yellow by Martha King

When I look back on my life as a reader, there are particular books I remember with pleasure because they drew me in as soon as I started them. Tom Sawyer was one, and Wuthering Heights—much to my surprise—was … Continue reading →

Francine Witte reads some Charley Poems

27 Dec ’20

I’ve heard Francine Witte read her Charley poems on several occasions, and I’ve always enjoyed them, so it had been on my mind to ask her to read them for the blog. Charley is a man (the many men) … Continue reading →

Rosemary Cappello reads from Wonderful Disaster

15 Nov ’20

In Philadelphia, Rosemary Cappello—since the 1970s—has edited magazines, organized readings, and published books by Philadelphia poets, helping the poetry scene to thrive there. When she sent me a copy of her book, Wonderful Disaster, I was moved by her memories … Continue reading →

Bamboo Pavilion: Chinese Poems and Paintings by Joanne Wang and Alfred Corn

1 Aug ’20

… Bamboo Pavilion is a beautiful jewel of a book. Chinese poets like Du Fu and Li Bai are translated by Alfred Corn with paintings by the contemporary Chinese artist, Joanne Wang, the present and that past in a really … Continue reading →

Timothy Liu reads from Let It Ride

30 Jul ’20

… A year ago I got in touch with Timothy Liu and asked if I could record him reading from his new book, Let It Ride, which was coming out in September. Well, one thing led to another, and we … Continue reading →

Jason Schneiderman reads from Hold Me Tight

22 Jul ’20

… Jason Schneiderman’s new book, Hold Me Tight, has some striking violence on its cover yet is very comfortable to hold. It’s this oxymoron about the book that pleases me the most. Pleasing too is the fluid order of the … Continue reading →

Janet Hamill reads from A Map of the Heavens

4 Jul ’20

… In the early 1970s, poets began to memorize their poems so what was coming to the listener was coming from the poet, not from the page. Janet Hamill was one of the first to do this as much a … Continue reading →

Basil King reads from Disparate Beasts

30 Jun ’20

… Basil King focuses on the details that sparkle and create the most important events in an artist’s life. His new book, Disparate Beasts, is the history of a thousand pages condensed through poetry into one. Although he began as … Continue reading →

Tess Taylor reads from Last West: Roadsongs for Dorothea Lange

25 Jun ’20

… On a Thursday I went to see Dorothea Lange’s “Words and Pictures” at MoMa, and on the following Monday, as luck would have it, I heard Tess Taylor read at KGB from her new book that the museum had … Continue reading →

Val Vinokur reads from Isaac Babel, The Essential Fictions

26 May ’20

… When I heard Val Vinokur read from Isaac Babel, The Essential Fictions it was an epiphany. I’d heard of Isaac Babel, but I’d never read him, and always associated him with Sholem Aleicham on Broadway in Fiddler on the … Continue reading →

Susana H. Case reads from Dead Shark on the N Train

14 May ’20

… Years ago a friend, Lynn McGee, said that she wanted me to meet a friend of hers, Susana Case, whom she thought was a wonderful poet, and not only that, but a favorite of hers. “You have to read … Continue reading →

Collaborations with Greg Masters

10 May ’20

… Something important arrived in the mail last week: an advanced copy of Collaborations, which is edited by Greg Masters, and will be released by the end of May. I came to New York City in 1979 around the time … Continue reading →