You might recognize Jonathan Djob Nkondo’s name from his comics work; you might also know him from his work on the acclaimed animated series Scavengers Reign. In 2020, SOLRAD’s Daniel Elkin observed that Nkondo’s comic After Laughter “reflects movement and time, focusing attention and perspective in a manner rarely found in comics.”
In our morning reading: an interview with Sari Botton, literary award news, and more.
In our afternoon reading: thoughts on Mitski’s new album, an interview with Jana Horn, and more.
Alfred Corn, the esteemed poet and man of letters, brings his considerable gifts to Hosts, a radiant collection of short stories. Across ten pieces, his unmistakable poetic sensibility and the immeasurable storehouse of his vocabulary create a word‑lover’s paradise. These contemporary tales—of love, loss, memory, and disappointment—carry an ageless resonance, making them feel both timely and enduring. It is the kind of collection discerning readers have been waiting for.
In our morning reading: reviews of books by Vigdis Hjorth and Helen Garner, a look back at a landmark documentary, and more.
Pink
by Gareth Fitzgerald
She awoke on her stomach, wearing only his boxers, and before she opened her eyes, Cassie felt there was something in his boxers.
In our weekend reading: thoughts on Iphgenia Baal’s new collection, an interview with Bill Callahan, and more.
The more horror I read, the more I’m convinced of an inalienable truth: for a horror story to work, it has to reflect something that terrifies the author. That might be something as simple as an evil clown holding a machete, or it could be something abstract and idiosyncratic. Aoife Josie Clements’s Persona is firmly in the latter category, I suspect, but it isn’t entirely clear just how far its author is willing to go until its conclusion.