Author: archerh2

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The Sealey Challenge: A Juror Must Fold In On Herself

Kathleen McClung’s tightly-woven, expertly-written, startlingly lovely A Juror Must Fold In On Herself is fascinating as a work of art, standing alone; as a work of memoir, exploring the foibles of the American legal system; and, finally, as a masterclass in the poetic form. It is stunning in so many ways, perhaps most of all that McClung has taken her time on a sequestered jury—vehicular … Continue reading The Sealey Challenge: A Juror Must Fold In On Herself

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The Sealey Challenge: She, Self-Winding

In She, Self-Winding, Vietnamese American translator, poet, and all-around Renaissance woman Luu Dieu Van creates sacredness from the profane, builds out memories of war from sex toys, forges identities through maxi-pads. It is earthy poetry, and also almost impossibly deep, each line (and sometimes each word!) running to multiple different interpretations. Dieu Van celebrates femininity through She, Self-Winding, from unabashedly sexual women and girls enjoying … Continue reading The Sealey Challenge: She, Self-Winding

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The Sealey Challenge: I Will Pass Even to Acheron

My guys, it turns out I can no longer read anything about the U.S. military without my mind skipping over and waving around the blood-drenched flags of coloniality and class-based mortality and morbidity, as lower-income Americans are funnelled toward our brutal military, trying desperately to find a space where they might somehow make it, even if that space might come with blood. Amanda Newell’s I … Continue reading The Sealey Challenge: I Will Pass Even to Acheron

archerh2
librarianship, on life (and other things)

Please join the Programming Librarian & MCNY to learn about the Black Maternal Health Initiative!

Way back in 2022, I was the chair of the American Library Association’s Libraries Transform Communities Engagement Grant. It was a special year: we got to award TWO grants instead of the usual one! And now, in 2023, it will be my very, very great honor to introduce the Metropolitan College of New York Library‘s Black Maternal Health Initiative. The webinar is free; you just … Continue reading Please join the Programming Librarian & MCNY to learn about the Black Maternal Health Initiative!

archerh2
on life (and other things)

Peculiar Tastes: The Captive Merman’s Promise

The Captive Merman’s Promise, by Zoey Castile (aka Zoraida Córdova), is, I guess, a bonkers romance. It’s also gorgeous and heartbreaking and joyous, a wild ride of emotions packed into a slim little package. Our main characters are Amada Palacios, who consumed and is being consumed by a curse that has haunted her family for generations, and Rónán, the captive merman, once a great warrior, … Continue reading Peculiar Tastes: The Captive Merman’s Promise

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Review on Third Coast: Who We Lost

Who We Lost: A Portable Covid Memorial, edited by Martha Greenwald and drawn from her site WhoWeLost.org, was published last fall by the Midwest’s own Belt Publishing. It’s been sitting on my to-review pile for even longer. I’m glad to say that my review has finally been written, and is now available on Third Coast Review. If you’ve been looking for a way of memorializing … Continue reading Review on Third Coast: Who We Lost

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Peculiar Tastes: The Demon’s Bargain

Katee Robert’s The Demon’s Bargain is hothothot. Which is no surprise: it is, after all, part of Peculiar Tastes, which definitely runs to the five-chili-pepper-hotness club. It’s a delightful little gift for anyone who’s read Robert’s long-running A Deal With a Demon series (which is also really fuckin’ hot). It’s also a really beautiful tale of two people, finding themselves and each other, all in … Continue reading Peculiar Tastes: The Demon’s Bargain

archerh2
on life (and other things)

Metra Electric needs to get their elevator act together

I am both a regular rider, and a passionate defender/lover, of public transportation. More specifically, I’m a Metra Electric (University Park line) person. I grew up on the line, frequently taking it from Hyde Park to the Loop as a kid, then from Flossmoor to Van Buren as a college student, and, now, Homewood to Millennium. I do not, for a plethora of reasons, enjoy … Continue reading Metra Electric needs to get their elevator act together

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