“Nervous Conditions” by Tsitsi Dangarembga
Dangarembga’s semi-autobiographical story of a young woman maturing through Rhodesian politics, school, and family prejudices is a fresh and significant local lens where all share responsibility.
“Superman Smashes the Klan” by Gene Luen Yang
Yang’s update on the classic Superman radio play in a new medium is worthy and worthwhile, a solid take on identity and community with new insights into the Man of Steel.
“Places / Everyone” by Jim Daniels
The stark lives of workers in 1980s Detroit, Daniels’s poetry is both distant and personal, barren but resonant.
“Three Simple Lines” by Natalie Goldberg
Goldberg’s hybrid travelogue/haiku mission is successful in each, revealing haiku’s wonder with authenticity. The opening chapter alone is worth the price of the book.
“Jayber Crow” by Wendell Berry –
Berry offers another in a series of well-written fictional memoirs of idyllic small town American in pastorale bliss, where the only thing wicked is the outside world of the 20th century and heterogeneity.
“Inanna, Queen of Heaven and Earth” by Diane Wolkstein
A philologist and storyteller takes on the reconstruction of the Sumerian tale of Inanna to powerful success, replete with enlightening essays to support her work.
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