Thursday, February 28, 2013

A Guide for Boys

D. A. Powell, several of whose poems we read in Timothy Liu's Word of Mouth, has won the National Book Critics Circle Award in Poetry (2012) for his collection Useless Landscape, or A Guide for Boys

a hymn to beauty and fantasy, a song-cycle to the Bay Area's bars and boathouses, [bringing] forward a verve and jocularity that is exhilarating, generous, and typical of this deeply sprung lyric poet.

Pope Aflutter

As Benedict departs, Colm Toíbín wrote an absorbing piece for the London Review of Books on him, homosexuality and the Catholic church:
"Among the Flutterers." His legacy for some of us has been his dazzling wardrobe, from his gorgeous hats to his perfect red pumps.



May he enjoy life at Castel Gandolfo while laypeople prepare his retirement suite in the Vatican. We will miss his sumptuous appearances.

The Ambassador from Venus


We've read enough by and about Robert Duncan, here and there, that some BookMen, I am sure, will be interested in looking at Michael Dirda's excellent review.