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Looking Backward

Selections from the TLR Archive

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An International Journal of Contemporary Writing

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Fairleigh Dickinson University

Heather Lang

Review: The Dark Heart of Every Wild Thing by Joseph Fasano

October 26, 2020

Heather Lang

(Shropshire, EN: Platypus Press, 2020) I discovered Joseph Fasano, author of the new novel The Dark Heart of Every Wild Thing, as a poet. A few years back, I read some of his verse, and more recently I heard him … Continued

Interview: Dylan Fisher, author of The Loneliest Band in France

July 20, 2020

Heather Lang

(Huntsville, TX: Texas Review Press, 2020)  Heather Lang-Cassera: Dylan, thank you for chatting with me about your exquisite novella, The Loneliest Band in France, the 2019 winner of the Clay Reynolds Novella Prize! Might you please share what sparked this lovely, lyrical book? … Continued

An Interview with Robin Myers, translator of Lyric Poetry Is Dead by Ezequiel Zaidenwerg

November 25, 2019

Heather Lang

Translated from Spanish by Robin Myers (Phoenix, AZ: Cardboard House Press, 2018) HLC: Thank you so much, Robin, for taking the time to chat with me today, and thank you even more for translating Ezequiel Zaidenwerg’s Lyric Poetry Is Dead, … Continued

A Review of Strange What Rises by Gary J. Whitehead

October 7, 2019

Heather Lang

(West Caldwell, NJ: Terrapin Books, 2019) Some poets remind us what quietude can bring, that it is not synonymous with disengagement nor weakness. Rather, bringing the noise level that surrounds us down for a few moments (to read a poem), … Continued

A Review of Quantum Heresies by Mary Peelen

July 22, 2019

Heather Lang

(Glenview, IL: Glass Lyre Press, 2019) If you have enjoyed the works of Mary Quade, either Guide to Native Beasts or Local Extinctions, or are enamored with molecular biologist and field ecologist Katherine Larson’s poetry collection, Radial Symmetry, Mary Peelen’s … Continued

A Review of tsunami vs. the fukushima 50 by Lee Ann Roripaugh

May 20, 2019

Heather Lang

(Minneapolis, MN: Milkweed Editions, 2019) Lee Ann Roripaugh’s fifth volume of poetry, tsunami vs. the fukushima 50, explores the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Disaster, triggered by the tsunami following the Tōhoku earthquake. The collection opens with a handful of poems … Continued

A Review of Transplant, Transport, Transubstantiation by Marjorie Maddox

February 25, 2019

Heather Lang

(Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2018) Growing up, my younger brother had a unique plush toy. Some kids have teddy bears. Many have plush dogs. My brother, however, had a stingray. Because that’s how we grew up, and that’s what … Continued

An Interview with Michael Bazzett, Translator of The Popol Vuh

December 17, 2018

Heather Lang

Heather Lang: Thank you so much, Michael, for agreeing to an interview on your brilliant translation of The Popol Vuh, the ancient Mayan creation epic, as translated from the K’iche’. I’ve long been familiar with your poetry, so I was … Continued

An Interview with Samuel Piccone, Author of Pupa

October 29, 2018

Heather Lang

Heather Lang:  The other day, after cleaning my house, I found myself staring—just sitting and staring—at the space I had created: the white wall beneath the oval mirror, above the bookshelf, and to the right of a small family photo. … Continued

A Review of Oceanic by Aimee Nezhukumatathil

June 4, 2018

Heather Lang

(Port Townsend, WA: Copper Canyon Press, 2018) Before I moved to the desert, I lived in Seattle, and within walking distance from my apartment was a modest surf shop. I’d rent stand-up paddleboards and, with my small dog at the … Continued

An Interview with Peter Barlow, Author of Little Black Dots

May 21, 2018

Heather Lang

Heather Lang: Pete, congratulations on the publication of your short story collection, Little Black Dots, out with Chatter House Press. I know that “Little Black Dots” is also the title of one of the short stories in the collection, but … Continued

An Interview with Taylor Mali, Author of The Whetting Stone

March 19, 2018

Heather Lang

Heather Lang: Taylor, thank you so much for chatting with me today. As you know from my previous note to you, I feel The Whetting Stone (Studio City, CA: Rattle, 2017) might be the most important poetry chapbook of the decade. Many … Continued

An Interview with Fiona Sze-Lorrain, Author of The Ruined Elegance

January 15, 2018

Heather Lang

Heather Lang: Thank you, Fiona Sze-Lorrain, for taking time out of your brimming schedule to chat with me about your art.  As you know, I greatly admire your latest poetry collection, The Ruined Elegance (Princeton University Press, 2016), and am … Continued

A Review of An Aorta with Branches: A Travelogue by Deborah Wood

October 16, 2017

Heather Lang

(Buffalo, NY: Sunnyoutside, 2017) All right, folks. I’m going to admit it. I’m finding more and more that I enjoy a stellar chapbook over the sacred, full-length poetry collection. I’ve spent some time pondering why this might be, and I … Continued

A Review of Once More with Feeling by Tina Cane

June 26, 2017

Heather Lang

(El Paso, TX: Veliz Books, 2017) To New York City, I’m an outsider. I’d never even visited until my mid-twenties, when my New Jersey grad-school friends and I piled into a car late one night. We drove through a tunnel … Continued

A Review of Sudden Windows by Richard Loranger

March 27, 2017

Heather Lang

(Las Vegas, NV: Zeitgeist Press, 2016) A couple years ago, I moved to Nevada from Washington state. I packed all my belongings into my car, and I drove. In my Subaru were my clothes, LPs, books, saxophones, and even my … Continued

A Review of The Ruined Elegance by Fiona Sze-Lorrain

January 20, 2017

Heather Lang

(Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2015) I recently visited Nevada’s National Atomic Testing Museum. I expected to be taken back by certain images – the apocalyptic mushroom clouds and obliterated cities – but something else remained with me, too. I … Continued

A Review of Everybody’s Automat by Mark Gurarie

November 7, 2016

Heather Lang

(Brooklyn, NY: The Operating System, 2016) If you’re familiar with poet Mark Gurarie, it’s likely you know he’s a musician as well. You might recognize him as a member of the indie-rock band, Galapagos Now! Moreover, his chapbook, Pop :: … Continued

A Review of Poetry Comics: From the Book of Hours by Bianca Stone

August 15, 2016

Heather Lang

(Warrensburg, MO: Pleiades Press, 2016) I remember the first time that, in terms of the poem, words failed me – not my words or another’s words but words in general. I was attempting to describe a man speaking and, behind … Continued

A Review of Sea Summit by Yi Lu

June 20, 2016

Heather Lang

Translated from the Chinese by Fiona Sze-Lorrain (Minneapolis, MN: Milkweed Editions, 2015) “A stage setting has no independent life of its own. Its emphasis is directed towards the performance. In the absence of the actor it does not exist.” These words … Continued

A Review of Animal Internet by Alexander Pschera

April 11, 2016

Heather Lang

Translated from the German by Elisabeth Lauffer (Animal Internet: Nature and the Digital Revolution. New York, NY: New Vessel Press, 2016) Recently I met someone online. He lives near Marcoola, Queensland, Australia, which is about an hour and a half north … Continued

A Review of Songs & Yes by MRB Chelko

February 15, 2016

Heather Lang

(Buffalo, NY: sunnyoutside, 2015) I’ve suffered fits of insomnia since I was young. I’d wake my mother at 2 a.m. to “roast marshmallows” (her paired socks) on “the grill” (her blanket-covered legs) or to tell her stories about multiplication, butterflies, … Continued

A Review of One Morning— by Rebecca Wolff

December 28, 2015

Heather Lang

(Seattle, WA and New York, NY: Wave Books, 2015) In October I had the pleasure of attending the Vegas Valley Book Festival, including the panel “Literary Nonfiction: The Elegance of Truth.” Among other topics, panelist Mike Sager, an award-winning journalist, … Continued

A Review of Animal Collection by Colin Winnette

October 26, 2015

Heather Lang

(Tuscon, AZ: Spork Press, 2012) Until recently, I would not have considered myself a spiritual person. Maybe I still wouldn’t. I’m somewhat embarrassed to admit that, like many who look to higher-powers only during times of need, I gave myself … Continued

A Review of A Popular Place to Explode by Eric Paul

September 10, 2015

Heather Lang

(Los Angeles, CA: Heartworm Press, 2015) Exactly how dangerous is it to stare at the sun? This is a question that I find myself asking throughout Eric Paul’s second poetry collection, A Popular Place To Explode. No, the book isn’t particularly … Continued

A Review of A New Index For Predicting Catastrophes by Madhur Anand

July 16, 2015

Heather Lang

(Toronto, Ontario: McClelland & Stewart, 2015) Fibonacci numbers were, I think, my first formal introduction to the idea that math and science are essential to the beauty of the natural world. I was in early elementary school when I learned … Continued

A Review of A Taxonomy of the Space Between Us by Caleb Curtiss

April 16, 2015

Heather Lang

(New York: Black Lawrence Press, 2015) I have long been interested in the relationship between the poem and the moment or, perhaps more precisely, the moment as it sits perched within memory. But after my sister’s sudden and unexpected passing, … Continued

A Review of Diana’s Tree by Alejandra Pizarnik

February 12, 2015

Heather Lang

Translated from the Spanish by Yvette Siegert (Brooklyn, NY: Ugly Duckling Presse, 2015) Last November, my introduction to Diana’s Tree was similar to that awe one feels when meeting an exceptional human being—I was rendered speechless. After my first read through … Continued

A Review of Dandarians by Lee Ann Roripaugh

November 20, 2014

Heather Lang

(Minneapolis, MN: Milkweed Editions, 2014) “Sun’s yoke a greasy sputter in morning’s blue Teflon.” Lee Ann Roripaugh opens her poem “Trompe l’Oeil: The Annotated Version” with these words, which I read as I sit at a diner down the road, … Continued

A Review of The Wish Book by Alex Lemon

July 3, 2014

Heather Lang

(Minneapolis, MN: Milkweed Editions, 2014) From “big jellyfish, All grown-assed” to “rain-laden / Lilacs,” Alex Lemon’s newest poetry collection, The Wish Book, is filled with everything. In a way, this reminds me of Dara Wier’s newest collection, You Good Thing, … Continued

A Review of People on Sunday by Geoffrey G. O’Brien

April 11, 2014

Heather Lang

(Seattle and New York: Wave Books, 2013.) I can’t put O’Brien’s newest poetry collection down. By this I do not mean that I am propelled through People on Sunday until the end, but rather, that I am compelled to read … Continued

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