Books Acquired Recently

I’ve been doing a bunch of retail therapy book buying as the result of the U.S.’s current political situation. This is a list of what’s come in over the past few days. Agyei-Baah, Adjei. Afriku: Haiku & Senryu from Ghana. Winchester, VA: Red Moon Press, 2016. I’m always interested in reading work by other haikuContinue reading “Books Acquired Recently”

Books Acquired Recently

Samatar, Sofia. Opacities: On Writing and the Writing Life. New York: Soft Skull Press, 2024. Samatar’s third book this year (one of them co-written with Kate Zambreno) came out yesterday. I pre-ordered it and look forward to begin reading it later today! Wark, McKenzie. Life Story. London: Hanuman Editions, 2024. I loved Wark’s book Raving,Continue reading “Books Acquired Recently”

Writing Activity, July 2023

Since January 2021, I’ve been keeping a list of my writing activity for each month (here’s last month’s). I do so partly as a form of encouragement for myself to show that I am still able to do some writing despite the energy-sucking terrors of our times, and partly as an archive that I canContinue reading “Writing Activity, July 2023”

Books Acquired Recently: Mennonite/s Writing Edition

This past weekend I attended the ninth Mennonite/s [sic] Writing conference. It was held at my alma mater, Goshen College, so I got to see some good friends in a nostalgic setting. Of course I bought lots of books at the excellent bookfair, which was arranged by Fables Books. Beck, Ervin. Joe Wright (1879-1972): GoshenContinue reading “Books Acquired Recently: Mennonite/s Writing Edition”

Books Acquired Recently

Lerner, Ben. The Hatred of Poetry. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2016. I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the role of literature in apocalyptic times such as these. Reading poetry on a daily basis is helping me to survive emotionally. Therefore, I’ve been looking for texts related to this subject, and decided itContinue reading “Books Acquired Recently”

Books Acquired Recently

Brautigan, Richard. Revenge of the Lawn, The Abortion, So the Wind Won’t Blow It All Away: (Three Books in the Manner of Their First Editions). Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1995. I received this omnibus edition of three of Brautigan’s books as a Valentine’s Day present. The only book by Brautigan that I’ve read is Trout FishingContinue reading “Books Acquired Recently”

Books Acquired Recently: Desk Copy Edition

The new semester begins on Monday. Over the past few months I have received desk copies of the following books for my courses (note that not all of the books I will be teaching are represented here). For Written Communication II: Darms, Lisa, ed. The Riot Grrrl Collection. New York: Feminist Press, 2013. Heti, Sheila,Continue reading “Books Acquired Recently: Desk Copy Edition”

Queering Mennonite Literature: Archiving, Activism, and the Search for Community

I am excited to announce that my book Queering Mennonite Literature: Archives, Activism, and the Search for Community has just been released by Penn State University Press! Though the terms “queer” and “Mennonite” rarely come into theoretical or cultural contact, over the last several decades writers and scholars in the United States and Canada haveContinue reading “Queering Mennonite Literature: Archiving, Activism, and the Search for Community”

Books Acquired Recently

I’ve been doing a lot of research on the Mennonite speculative fiction writer Sofia Samatar recently, including reading through lots of her interviews (a list of them is on her website). Interviewers often ask her about books she’s read lately and I’ve almost always never heard of them, so I try to buy the onesContinue reading “Books Acquired Recently”

Books Acquired Recently: Cincinnati Edition

This weekend I went to the Cincinnati Mennonite Arts Weekend for the first time. It was so much fun! Of course I bought some books. I also visited the Half Price Books near my hotel, where I purchased Roberts’, Brown’s, and Sohl’s texts. Brown, Rita Mae. Poems. Freedom, CA: Crossing Press, 1987. I love Brown’sContinue reading “Books Acquired Recently: Cincinnati Edition”