GEOFF BOTTOMS relishes a profoundly human portrait of a family as it evolves across 55 years in Sheffield
A bonanza of the best LatinX literature
LEO BOIX selects the best books of fiction, poetry, and non-fiction written by Latinx and Latin American authors published this year
PAUL DONOVAN applauds an excellently crafted new musical that explores the life and death of Ruth Ellis
PAUL DONOVAN is tickled by the excruciating take-downs of one of the funniest, wittiest, political writers around.
RON JACOBS points out, via a transcription of Kissinger’s secret recordings, that Trump could never have existed without Nixon and Kissinger
ELLIS RAE is persuaded that the advantages of the ‘talking cure’ are superior to the treatment of mental illness with drugs
JOHN GREEN, MICHAL BONCZA and BELLA KATZ review The Good Boy, Broken English, and Don't Be Prey
The year 2024 has proven remarkable for Latinx and Latin American fiction, poetry, and non-fiction, featuring an extensive range of literary works that have exceeded all expectations.
Latino Poetry: The Library of America Anthology, edited by Rigoberto Gonzalez (Library of America, £30), is the first to encompass Latinx poetry from colonial to contemporary works. Featuring over 180 poets and an insightful introduction by Gonzalez, this collection showcases diverse voices, themes, languages, and stories. “‘Latino’ is a complex term with no single narrative. This anthology transcends stereotypes, reflecting the richness of Latino poetry,” writes Gonzalez. Highlights include poems by Ernesto Cardenal, Cecilia Vicuna, and Javier Zamora. In Zamora's poignant El Salvador, he expresses: “Tonight, how I wish/ you made it easier to love you, Salvador. Make it easier/ to never have to risk our lives.”
An exceptional anthology.
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A ghost story by Mexican Ave Barrera, a Surrealist poetry collection by Peruvian Cesar Moro, and a manifesto-poem on women’s labour and capitalist havoc by Peruvian Valeria Roman Marroquin
LEO BOIX introduces a bold novel by Mapuche writer Daniela Catrileo, a raw memoir from Cuban-Russian author Anna Lidia Vega Serova, and powerful poetry by Mexican Juana Adcock
A novel by Argentinian Jorge Consiglio, a personal dictionary by Uruguayan Ida Vitale, and poetry by Mexican Homero Aridjis
Travelogue/reportage by Argentinean Maria Sonia Cristoff, and poetry by Peruvian Gaston Fernandez and Puerto Rican Cristina Perez Diaz