On the occasion of his third poetry collection, Book of My Nights, poet Li-Young Lee discusses writing as a religious act, a way to connect with “a consciousness that sees it all, that is truly awake.”
November/December 2001
Features
Toward a Larger, Listening World: An Interview With Ray Gonzalez
A profile of poet Ray Gonzalez.
Poems From God: A Conversation With Li-Young Lee
A profile of poet Li-Young Lee.
The Far, Deep Things of Dreamland: An Interview With Elizabeth Alexander
Elizabeth Alexander's new collection, Antebellum Dream Book, deals with the image of the body, a theme she visits often in her previous works. "If you let a body speak," she says, "it gives you access to all sorts of concrete sensations that are vital, the stuff of poetry, the way a poem convinces." In this interview with Natasha Trethewey, Alexander speaks to her use of race, urban life, history, and of course, the body.
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Belles Lettres Du Monde
Souls That Travel: American Writers in Greece
American writers in Greece, past and present.
Readers Rule Britannia: A Letter From London
The literary scene in London.
From the Desert to the Sea: Israeli Writing Today
Cultural diversity enriches Israeli literature.
Next Stop, Antarctica: The Kiwi Literary Life
A native New Yorker surveys the literary life in New Zealand.
In Gogol's Footsteps: St. Petersburg Post-Perestroika
The scene in Moscow's less "mainstream" literary counterpart.
News and Trends
Audio Publisher Celebrates 50 Years
Celebration for Caedmon Records, the first commercial publisher of spoken word releases.
Online Newsstand Promotes Lit Mags
The Council of Literary Magazines and Presses and Small Press Distribution launch the Literary Magazine Kiosk, an online newsstand.
The Functions of Conjunctions
Literary magazine Conjunctions celebrates its twentieth anniversary issue.
Book Clubs Unite Cities of Readers
The rise and influence of citywide book clubs.
The Practical Writer
Novel Research on the Web: Is It a World of Ideas or Distractions?
Advice from five authors on getting the most from online research.
Literature Without Borders: Something New Under the Sun
Profile of Web Del Sol, the "hottest literary spot on the Web."
First: How Priscilla Becker Beat the Odds
A profile of debut poet Priscilla Becker.
The Literary Life
21st-Century Pleasures: The Rewards of Recitation
The joy of memorizing and reciting poetry.
Tone Deaf: Learning to Listen to the Music in Prose
The rewards of reading aloud and finding poetry in prose.