New Books in Literature

Marshall Poe
New Books in Literature

Interviews with Writers about their New Books Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literature

  1. -1 J

    Yermiyahu Ahron Taub, "Prayers of a Heretic: Poems" (Plain View Press, 2015)

    In the poetry collection Prayers of a Heretic (Plain View Press, 2015), Yermiyahu Ahron Taub explores the "crime" of heresy and the condition of existential displacement through the language of prayer and prayerful voice/s. In the first section, "Visits and Visitations," the poet imagines a variety of protagonists in situations of supplication. The second section, "In the Gleaning," examines the life, transgressions, and prayers of the title character and the primacy of books, libraries, and reading for refuge and reconfiguration. Eschewing a secular/religious divide, the book offers an expansive interpretation of the enduring power of prayer. Four poems also have a Yiddish version. Interviewee: Yermiyahu Ahron Taub is a poet, writer, and translator of Yiddish literature. Taub earned a Master of Arts degree in history from Emory University and a Master of Library and Information Science degree from Queens College, City University of New York. Host: Schneur Zalman Newfield is an Associate Professor of Sociology and Jewish Studies at Hunter College, City University of New York, and the author of Degrees of Separation: Identity Formation While Leaving Ultra-Orthodox Judaism (Temple University Press). Visit him online at ZalmanNewfield.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literature

    1 h 2 min
  2. -1 J

    Chikodili Emelumadu, "Dazzling" (Harry N. Abrams, 2023)

    Today I talked to Chikodili Emelumadu about Dazzling (Harry N. Abrams, 2023). Treasure and Ozoemena are young Nigerian girls forced to deal with spirits after losing their fathers. Treasure is forced to beg in the marketplace as her mother lies bedridden and depressed, and a wicked spirit finds her there and tries to make her his wife. He promises to bring her father back to life if she helps him by finding other girls for his friends. Ozoemena’s father has disappeared, leaving the family with questions and responsibilities. She learns from her grandmother that she is descended from a wild, ancient beast, the Leopard from an Igbo legend, which gives her terrible dreams and sometimes takes over her body. Touching on Igbo mythology and African folklore, Emelumadu’s dual-voiced stories focus on family, traditions, growing up, and the forces that conspire to prevent people from overcoming their grief. Chikodili Emelumadu was born in Worksop, Nottinghamshire and raised in Awka, Nigeria. Her work has been shortlisted for the Shirley Jackson Awards (2015), the Caine Prize for African Literature (2017 & 2020) and has won a Nommo award (2020 & 2024). In 2019, she emerged winner of the inaugural Curtis Brown First Novel prize for her debut novel, Dazzling. Her short fiction is available in many magazines and anthologies such as Isolation: The Horror Anthology (2022), Screams from the Dark (2022), Experimental Writing: A Writer’s Guide and Anthology (2024) and as part of the Royal Literary Fund’s Writer’s Mosaic. She can be found raving about books and art on Twitter @chemelumadu, or Instagram @chikodiliemelumadu. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literature

    30 min
  3. -6 J

    All of Our Stories Were War Stories: Jamil Jan Kochai and Kalyan Nadiminti (AV)

    Imagine growing up between Sacramento, California and Logar, Afghanistan; you hear stories about war, watch coverage of the United States’ War on Terror on television, and then visit your family in the very places that the U.S. army invaded and occupied. These experiences shape the work of novelist Jamil Jan Kochai, author of 99 Nights in Logar and The Haunting of Hajji Hotak and Other Stories, which was a finalist for The National Book Award. Jamil joins Northwestern prof. Kalyan Nadiminti and host Aarthi Vadde for a wide-ranging conversation about narrative form and the cycles of war. We begin by discussing the second person, a technique Jamil uses throughout Hajji Hotak. He describes it as the most “dangerous perspective” for a fiction writer to take because it brings readers to the edge of the immersive world fiction is supposed to create. The second person in The Haunting of Hajji Hotak, from which Jamil reads, forces readers to grapple with our own complicity in the surveillance of Afghan families in the United States and to consider the paradoxical affection that develops between people on opposing sides of war. From there, Jamil, Kalyan, and Aarthi discuss the relationship between video games as mass media and the novel as literary form. Jamil is a huge fan of Final Fantasy 7 (who isn’t?) and talks about how games like Call of Duty (a game he played more ambivalently) perform a recruitment function for the U.S. army. He rewrites that vision of war in more complex terms in his own story “Playing Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain." Kalyan reflects on how the category of the post-9/11 writer intersects with the War on Terror, and the three of us consider the symbolic function of 9/11 in contemporary fiction written from inside and outside the United States. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literature

    44 min
  4. 19 NOV.

    Monica Chenault-Kilgore, "The Jewel of the Blues" (Graydon House, 2024)

    Life is tough for people of color in the early twentieth century—not only in the Southern states, which have put Reconstruction firmly behind them in favor of Jim Crow laws. Even so, Lucille Love, known as the Little Girl with the Big Voice, dreams of making her name on Broadway and eventually moving to Paris, leaving behind the prejudices that restrict black women in the United States. When Marcus Williams offers to manage Lucille’s singing career, she’s sure that reaching her goal is just a matter of time. Until some old enemies of her father track her down … This richly developed story intertwines a love of music and musicians, an exploration of color prejudice, and a tense drama of criminals with long memories and no scruples. At its heart stands Lucille—a passionate, determined young woman who doesn’t always make the best choices but whose heart is in the right place. I found it an engrossing read, and I bet you will too. Monica Chenault-Kilgore is the author of Long Gone, Come Home and, most recently, The Jewel of the Blues (Graydon House, 2024). C. P. Lesley is the author of two historical fiction series set during the childhood of Ivan the Terrible and four other novels. Her next book, Song of the Steadfast, is due in 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literature

    49 min
  5. 17 NOV.

    Megan Tennant, "Little Women," The Common magazine

    Megan Tennant speaks to managing editor Emily Everett about her story “Little Women,” which appears in The Common’s brand new fall issue. Megan talks about the process of writing and revising this story, which explores the complex dynamics between two sisters in a religious family in South Africa after one sister gets engaged. Megan also discusses how she layered the beauty, atmosphere, and complicated history of South Africa’s Wild Coast into the story, and how she worked to balance subtlety and clarity when bringing together the story’s many threads. Megan Tennant is a writer based in Cape Town, South Africa. She holds master’s degrees in creative writing from the University of Cape Town and in London studies from Queen Mary University of London. ­­Read Megan’s story “Little Women” in The Common at thecommononline.org/little-women/. The Common is a print and online literary magazine publishing stories, essays, and poems that deepen our collective sense of place. On our podcast and in our pages, The Common features established and emerging writers from around the world. Read more and subscribe to the magazine at thecommononline.org, and follow us on Twitter @CommonMag. Emily Everett is managing editor of the magazine and host of the podcast. Her debut novel All That Life Can Afford is forthcoming in April 2025 from Putnam Books. Her stories appear in the Kenyon Review, Electric Literature, Tin House Online, and Mississippi Review. She was a 2022 Massachusetts Cultural Council Fellow in Fiction. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literature

    41 min

À propos

Interviews with Writers about their New Books Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literature

Plus de contenus par New Books Network

Vous aimeriez peut‑être aussi

Pour écouter des épisodes au contenu explicite, connectez‑vous.

Recevez les dernières actualités sur cette émission

Connectez‑vous ou inscrivez‑vous pour suivre des émissions, enregistrer des épisodes et recevoir les dernières actualités.

Choisissez un pays ou une région

Afrique, Moyen‑Orient et Inde

Asie‑Pacifique

Europe

Amérique latine et Caraïbes

États‑Unis et Canada