Patrick Chamoiseau’s novels take their form from the primacy of orality, but with the recognition—expressed most clearly at the close … More

Song of Solomon is among the twentieth-century masterpieces that draws from the stock of devices associated with Dickens and finds entirely … More

“Spiteful” is a shocking word, seeming too small, too intimate. But then it is the right word for the novel, … More

Though it is probably the third most famous of Empson’s villanelles, “Reflection from Anita Loos” is a fine example of … More

To my eyes and ears, the single greatest post-1960s American poet is Lucille Clifton. She is as essentially a lyric … More

Lorine Niedecker’s poems are taut as riddles. Here is “Easter”:   A robin stood by my porch and side-eyed raised … More

Donald Davie’s The Purity of Diction in English Verse is, first and foremost, a recovery of poetry written within the … More