A slim collection of imaginatively written poetry that sometimes takes subtlety too far.
A ghost in a canal lock and a post-storm family reunion are among the topics in this poetic exploration of the extraordinary in the ordinary.
Just as garum, the ancient, “pungent fish sauce,” was fundamental to every Roman, this slender volume of poetry seeks to describe the pleasures of a simple life. Beginning with various quotidian domestic scenes, the first section is written with a light touch, playing to the senses of readers. Excitement comes in “Family Reunion,” when the coastal scene changes overnight after an apparent hurricane: “How we slid down a new escarpment / made while we slept, / walked together up the beach, the twisted roots / all exposed now, / wondering how long the platinum sea / will take to reclaim her little island?” Part 2’s poems make up a narrative that describes a trip up the Erie Canal and a developing romance. The canal boat captain hires a cook and is so taken with her beauty, the ghost tale she spins, and her coffee that he asserts: “Before you / I had lived a life / without story.” Part 3, in haiku and tanka, consists of short bursts about nature and domestic life that lightly take risks: “Lonely firefly / world of warcraft flickers / in our neighbor’s window.” Letters’ effort to find the splendor in humble things and his spare, carefully chosen words create an attractive picture of home and nature. Part 2 has the most substance of the three, and its narrative form suits the author’s writing style very well, though the story could have been fleshed out even more. The poetry overall has a nice, quiet modesty to it, yet some poems are so subtle as to lack much effect. The Japanese-inspired devices toward the end are rightly full of nature—willow trees, swans, and “Mosquitoes big / as bears”—producing an enjoyable sensory experience.
A slim collection of imaginatively written poetry that sometimes takes subtlety too far.Pub Date: June 6, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-9992855-8-9
Page Count: 102
Publisher: Paucus Publishing Company
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
An affecting portrait of a prickly woman.
A lifetime’s worth of letters combine to portray a singular character.
Sybil Van Antwerp, a cantankerous but exceedingly well-mannered septuagenarian, is the titular correspondent in Evans’ debut novel. Sybil has retired from a beloved job as chief clerk to a judge with whom she had previously been in private legal practice. She is the divorced mother of two living adult children and one who died when he was 8. She is a reader of novels, a gardener, and a keen observer of human nature. But the most distinguishing thing about Sybil is her lifelong practice of letter writing. As advancing vision problems threaten Sybil’s carefully constructed way of life—in which letters take the place of personal contact and engagement—she must reckon with unaddressed issues from her past that threaten the house of cards (letters, really) she has built around herself. Sybil’s relationships are gradually revealed in the series of letters sent to and received from, among others, her brother, sister-in-law, children, former work associates, and, intriguingly, literary icons including Joan Didion and Larry McMurtry. Perhaps most affecting is the series of missives Sybil writes but never mails to a shadowy figure from her past. Thoughtful musings on the value and immortal quality of letters and the written word populate one of Sybil’s notes to a young correspondent while other messages are laugh-out-loud funny, tinged with her characteristic blunt tartness. Evans has created a brusque and quirky yet endearing main character with no shortage of opinions and advice for others but who fails to excavate the knotty difficulties of her own life. As Sybil grows into a delayed self-awareness, her letters serve as a chronicle of fitful growth.
An affecting portrait of a prickly woman.Pub Date: May 6, 2025
ISBN: 9780593798430
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025
A welcome literary resurrection that deserves a place alongside Wright’s best-known work.
A falsely accused Black man goes into hiding in this masterful novella by Wright (1908-1960), finally published in full.
Written in 1941 and '42, between Wright’s classics Native Son and Black Boy, this short novel concerns Fred Daniels, a modest laborer who’s arrested by police officers and bullied into signing a false confession that he killed the residents of a house near where he was working. In a brief unsupervised moment, he escapes through a manhole and goes into hiding in a sewer. A series of allegorical, surrealistic set pieces ensues as Fred explores the nether reaches of a church, a real estate firm, and a jewelry store. Each stop is an opportunity for Wright to explore themes of hope, greed, and exploitation; the real estate firm, Wright notes, “collected hundreds of thousands of dollars in rent from poor colored folks.” But Fred’s deepening existential crisis and growing distance from society keep the scenes from feeling like potted commentaries. As he wallpapers his underground warren with cash, mocking and invalidating the currency, he registers a surrealistic but engrossing protest against divisive social norms. The novel, rejected by Wright’s publisher, has only appeared as a substantially truncated short story until now, without the opening setup and with a different ending. Wright's take on racial injustice seems to have unsettled his publisher: A note reveals that an editor found reading about Fred’s treatment by the police “unbearable.” That may explain why Wright, in an essay included here, says its focus on race is “rather muted,” emphasizing broader existential themes. Regardless, as an afterword by Wright’s grandson Malcolm attests, the story now serves as an allegory both of Wright (he moved to France, an “exile beyond the reach of Jim Crow and American bigotry”) and American life. Today, it resonates deeply as a story about race and the struggle to envision a different, better world.
A welcome literary resurrection that deserves a place alongside Wright’s best-known work.Pub Date: April 20, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-59853-676-8
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Library of America
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2021
BOOK TO SCREEN
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
