Benjamín Naka-Hasebe Kingsley Scuffing our sneakers on crumbledblacktop basketball courts dog-callingHialeah-hollering I say Is there anythingmore embarrassing than Corey being bornyear of the faggy horse?Bitchass Wecackle loud enough to light crows offtelephone poles & of course it’s really mewho’s ashamed of being Horse-born yearafter upended year still star sign of thediscolored stallion Me who is faggy Mybitchass …
God of War
Sergio Lima Hummingbird, colibrí,Huitzilopochtli beatsfurious wings, pushingheart to the brink tofeed on fermented sunraysgathered in a flower’s funnel. Diminutive powerhouse,you protect your territoryfrom obscured perch in tree,charging at trespasserswith staccato tweets andcurved, stabbing beak. Yourconfidence rooted in speed,the ability to cut through breeze. Mouse strong,snake quick,eggs the sizeof July acornsor foil-wrappedEaster candy. When my stepsdisturb …
Stay Safe
Luther Hughes The dog outside won’t stop swallowing the citywith its harping. Sooner or later some good citizenwill peek through their blinds asking themselvesabout the fuss, wanting to know what cruel somebodyabandoned such loyalty—some Golden Retriever, somesnip-tailed Rottweiler, who knows. Next to me, he is asleep, the one I love, the one who promised me …
The Sympathizer
Viet THANH NGUYEN. Grove Press, 2015 Don't you want to learn Japanese? Don't you want to visit Nippon? For a long time I felt bad. I wondered why I didn't want to learn Japanese, why I didn't already speak Japanese, why I would rather go to Paris or Istanbul or Barcelona rather than Tokyo. But …
LESS
Andrew Seán GREER. Little Brown and Company, 2017
The Plague
Albert CAMUS, 1947 One of the most striking consequences of the closing of the gates was, in fact, this sudden deprivation befalling people who were completely unprepared for it. Mothers and children, lovers, husbands and wives, who had a few days previously taken it for granted that their parting would be a short one, who …
Homegoing
Yaa GYASI. Vintage Books, 2016 ============================================== "Two Asante men went out into the forest one day. They were weavers by trade, and they had gone out to hunt for meat. When they got to the forest to collect their traps, they were met by Anansi, the mischievous spider. He was spinning a magnificent web. They …
Missing Person
Rue des Boutiques Obscures. Éditions Gallimard, 1978 Patrick MODIANO. Verba Mundi, 1980 A thought suddenly seemed to strike him."But perhaps you'd rather we didn't talk about it anymore? Would you prefer to remain incognito?""Not at all," I said with a smile.The young man brought us a serving of sweetbreads. I often mention bars or restaurants, …
Sa Teach Seo Anocht
Micheál Ó CONGHAILE, Cló Iar-Chonnacht, 2019 Is deacair tada a rá lena rá ceart, a deireadh mo sheanathair agus tuigim anois brí a ráitis, go háirithe sna gnóthaí seo. Bheifí ag léamh idir na línte. Thabharfaí an oiread suntais don rud nár dúradh leis an méid a bheadh ráite. Bheadh go leor ráite idir na …
Signs Preceding the End of the World
Yuri HERRERA, And Other Stories, 2015 Rucksacks. What do people whose life stops here take with them? Makina could see their rucksacks crammed with time. Amulets, letters, sometimes a huapango violin, sometimes a jaranera harp. Jackets. People who left took jackets because they'd been told that if there was one thing they could be sure …
the Books that Bind 