Two Decades in the Making: Blue Rice, the Haunting New Novel by Frances Park
“When everyone suffered so much loss, where did you begin?” says author Frances Park, when contemplating her latest novel, Blue Rice, which follows a plucky, sensible hero, while examining the devastation of the Korean War alongside the experience of immigrating to America. Park continues, “Your pain’s only special to you, right?” Park’s indelible tale of…
Aguas/Waters Brings a Montevideo Poet to a D.C. Audience
Poet Miguel Avero and translator Jona Colson, who collaborated on the Washington Writers’ Publishing House’s upcoming poetry collection Aguas/Waters, have never met in person. They’ve spoken on a couple video calls, but mostly, they message back and forth about their translations over WhatsApp. Through text and voice messages, the writers have resolved translation questions big…
D.C. Scholar Chronicles the History of and Local Connections to “Li’l Liza Jane”
“Li’l Liza Jane” and its bright, catchy folk lyrics are a piece of American history. Also known as “Little Liza Jane,” “Liza Jane,” and “Goodbye Lizzy,” the song stems from the antebellum South and spans generations, genres, and cultures—from Nina Simone’s 1960 emotional arrangement to David Bowie’s 1964 rock ’n’ roll rendition. To this day,…
The Age of Deer Documents How Deer Came to Represent Our Two Americas
As Erika Howsare writes in her new book, The Age of Deer: Trouble and Kinship with Our Wild Neighbors, “Deer are bigger and more charismatic than” crows, vultures, or squirrels “by an order of magnitude … there’s something about how a deer looks back.” In the course of reading Howsare’s book, published by Penguin Random…
Arielle Burgdorf’s Prétend Contemplates the Nuance of Translation and Queerness
The life and identity of Jean, a queer translator navigating an abusive marriage, are ever-changing in Arielle Burgdorf’s debut novel, Prétend. Jean, who offers early on that she’s “not a citizen of anywhere in particular” but her closest place to “home” is Montreal, first meets Russian poet Konstantin in an Icelandic bar. Overlooking his controlling…
Universally Adored Unravels the Power of the Dollar Bill
In Universally Adored and Other $1 Dollar Stories, D.C. author (and actor) Elizabeth Bruce gives nearly three dozen reasons why a dollar bill can enrich a story. Her 33 microstories, like those of Haruki Murakami and Ottessa Moshfegh, are brief, feature a resolved plot, and occasionally a plot twist or a surprise. Sometimes the dollar is…
When She Left Is a Bloody Page-Turner With a Soul
Crime novels often feature hit men, but the best portray complex personalities rather than mere murderous thugs. And while hit men with psychological issues may be something of a comic television trope, that doesn’t make them any less engaging in print. Indeed, that engaging complexity is what characterizes Lucky, the star killer in E.A. Aymar’s…
2024 Spring Arts Guide
D.C.’s State of the Arts You might think that after three years I’d be bored with our biannual arts guides. Haven’t we seen and done it all, you might ask? After all this time steeped in the arts in D.C., am I not immune to her charms? The reality is that each and every time…
When the Music Stopped: Remembering Reuben Jackson
Throughout his life, Reuben Jackson listened to the music he loved—jazz, of course, but also Jimi Hendrix, Prince, John Prine, and Claude Debussy. As a jazz scholar, Jackson’s understanding of music was profound, and his knowledge vast. As a poet, he listened closely to the people around him, savoring each word’s timbre, musicality, and resonance.…
Les Be Honest Dreams Up a Queer, Sapphic Utopia
Following several failed businesses, Yasmeen Kiani stumbles upon a new idea. After finding a retail space for lease in her new neighborhood, entrepreneur Yasmeen decides to open a queer bar in Arlington, Virginia, in the new romance novel Les Be Honest by Sarah Robinson. She quickly meets Tyler Adams, the property manager of the building…
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