Bookworm

In Peter Cole's poetry, the Jewish mystical tradition gives rise to transmission of the spiritual vision.

The possibility of a romantic adventure novel written in the repressive language of a dictatorship like China's would be entirely heartbreaking if it weren’t so funny. It would be very funny if it weren’t so heartbreaking.

Can we truly understand another human being?

Letter to Jimmy is Congolese author Alain Mabanckou’s book-length letter to James Baldwin. 

Frank Bascombe, who's been making appearances since Ford's breakthrough novel, appears again in Richard Ford's latest novel.

Lydia Millet's new novel is fast-moving and funny -- except when it isn't. 

Colm Tóibín discusses his deeply personal story of a provincial Irishwoman who sets aside motherhood to grapple with grief. 

What is a Splash state? Poet Todd Colby tells us a splash state is the golden moment when his writing hits its ecstatic stride. 

Iranian author Goli Taraghi's recent collection translates many of her short stories of the past forty years into English for the first time.

Bookworm is joined by Marilynne Robinson to discuss Lila ( Farrar, Straus, and Giroux), the latest in a series of novels set in the backdrop of the dustbowl years.