Likely National Book Award prospect (two-time finalist)Offers wisdom and connection between the grief of war and tragedies and the healing power and redemption of poetry and music through landscape and community.Award winning author of 13 books of poetry, translations, and prose spanning multiple decades.Balaban was a conscientious objector to Vietnam and went there anyway to volunteer in a children’s hospital in Saigon.Includes translations of...

Based on a true story: A magnificent portrayal of chaos, darkness, and adventure in Asia's Golden Triangle as the war wages in VietnamAdrift at the end of the Vietnam War, Paul Roberts and his girlfriend, Fay, are arrested at the Burmese-Thai border for smuggling a couple of ounces of hashish. Stranded in a small Thai prison, they become part of a grisly contest played out by opium warlords, corrupt border patrol police, and two AWOL GIs. The war echoes through the...

"John Balaban’s sixth collection of poetry considers America in its innate beauty and complex ugliness, in its powerfully healing landscapes and its destructive misadventures. With a compelling lyricism and cinematic imagery, Empires showcases the pervasiveness of the human spirit across a diverse cast of characters, both modern and ancient. From the rubble of the World Trade Center to Washington’s troops crossing the Potomac to powerful insights into the Vietnam War, Balaban’s ge...

Stories of war and conflict form the backbone of much of the Western literary canon, portraying a certain image of heroism, stoicism, and survival in the face of violence. War and Imagination challenges the canon with essays, short stories, and a wide variety of perspectives.Paying particular attention to the twentieth century and prioritizing the writings of civilians, the works highlighted in War and Imagination offer an opportunity to challenge representations ...

The Winter 2022-23 Issue. Ploughshares is an award-winning journal of new writing. Since1971, Ploughshares has discovered and cultivated the freshest voices in contemporaryAmerican literature, and now provides readers with thoughtful and entertaining literature in avariety of formats. Find out why the New York Times named Ploughshares “the Triton amongminnows.”The Winter 2022-23 Issue, edited by Editor-in-chief Ladette Randolph and Poetry Editor John

The 2016 winner of the Walt Whitman Award of the Academy of American Poets, selected by Carolyn Forché*When I make the crossing, you must not be taken no matter whatthe current gives. When we reach the camp,there will be thousands like us.If I make it onto the plane, you must follow me to the roadsand waiting pastures of America.We will not ride the water today on the shoulders of buffaloas we used to many years ago, nor ...

From a PEN Award winner for Literary Editing: "Arguably the most distinguished journal of prose and poetry in America." — ElleConjunctions' milestone fiftieth issue gathers together the many voices, forms, and styles that have defined the legendary literary journal since it was launched by Bradford Morrow in 1981. Established masters like William H. Gass, John Ashbery, Richard Powers, Edwidge Danticat, Rae Armantrout, Robert Coover, and Lyn Hejini...

This groundbreaking anthology offers a broad and representative introduction to some of the most exciting, fresh voices on the contemporary poetry landscape by gathering together generous selections from the work of 85 younger American poets.The poets selected were born after 1960, published their first book within the last 10 years, and have no more than three books published. Some are the recipients of numerous awards, while others, who are making their first appearance, are quic...

The New Yorker, The Best Books of Poetry of 2016New York Times, Critics PickBoston Globe, Best Books listingMiami Herald, Best LGBTQ BooksSan Francisco Chronicle, Top 100 Books of the YearLibrary Journal, Best Books of 2016“There is a powerful emotional undertow to these poems that springs from...

From This American Life alum David Rakoff comes a hilarious collection that single-handedly raises self-deprecation to an art form. Whether impersonating Sigmund Freud in a department store window during the holidays, climbing an icy mountain in cheap loafers, or learning primitive survival skills in the wilds of New Jersey, Rakoff clearly demonstrates how he doesn’t belong–nor does he try to.In his debut collection of essays, Rakoff uses his razor-sharp wit and snarky hum...

In recognition of her long and lauded career as a master essayist, a landmark collection including her most beloved pieces and some rarely seen work, rigorously curated by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author herself. With a foreword by Geoff Dyer.“A writer who never seems tired, who has never plodded her way through a page or sentence, Dillard can only be enjoyed by a wide-awake reader,” warns Geoff Dyer in his foreword to this stellar collection. Carefully culled fr...

Juan Cabrillo faces a global deadly threat in Clive Cussler's The Jungle.Juan Cabrillo and the crew of the Oregon are up against their smartest foe yet - but in their midst there is a traitor . . .After losing their contract with the US government because of a daring raid too far, Cabrillo and his crew of mercenaries with a conscience are earning money the hard way: doing dirty, dangerous little jobs in the world's trouble spots. Now they've accept...