Veronika Simoniti translated by Nada Grošelj, et al Dalkey Archive ($17) by Garin Cycholl In Veronika Simoniti’s “On the Mainland,” the narrator goes to spread his late wife’s ashes. He starts with Provence as a destination, then settles on Tuscany—it’s closer. He crosses the border from Slovenia into Italy, the ashes in an urn “firmly […]

Tamim Al-Barghouti translated by Radwa Ashour Interlink Books ($15) by Dustin Michael The subject of walls dominates the political discourse of the moment. This has prompted some examination of their functionality, of the privilege of those they protect and the suffering of those they obstruct—and of “the wall” as a symbol of separation between nations […]

Alexandra Mattraw The Cultural Society ($20) by Andrew Joron Sirens, whatever else they may be, are surely communications, soundings to alarm or to allure. The poems in Alexandra Mattraw’s recent collection small siren perform both functions at once, signaling that language—that great bridge between thoughts and things—has begun to sway dangerously yet beautifully, and that […]

Interviewed by Ben Shields Evan Fallenberg, novelist, translator, and university lecturer, lives in two very different parts of Israel. He has one home in Tel Aviv at the intersection of Rothschild Boulevard and Sheinkin Street, the most central location possible in the country’s most metropolitan city. His other home is ninety minutes north in the […]

INTERVIEWS “A Certain Amount of Insanity”: Tessa Hadley in conversation with Curtis Sittenfeld Minnesota author Curtis Sittenfeld sat down with British author Tessa Hadley at a Rain Taxi event this past January. The two had a lively and informative conversation on many topics inspired by Hadley's newest novel, Late in the Day. Interviewed by Curtis […]