Category Archives: Literature

BOOK: “Islands in the Stream” by Ernest Hemingway

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Islands in the StreamIslands in the Stream by Ernest Hemingway
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Publisher Site – Simon & Schuster

This novel was actually published almost a decade after Hemingway’s death. It was found among his papers, a complete — but rough — draft.

The book’s protagonist is Thomas Hudson, a divorced painter living alone in the Caribbean. The story is told in three parts. In the first, Hudson’s solitary existence is brightened by a visit from his three sons (one from one ex- and the other two from a second.) The second part is the story of a prolonged bender in Cuba. The final section follows Hudson and his crew as they track the survivors of a sunken German U-boat as said Germans try to island-hop their way to safety. The three sections are each quite different in tone. The last part reads like genre fiction (i.e. commercial fiction,) while the former two are character driven literary fiction (but of quite different tones.)

The book is mostly about loss and grief and the varied ways with which it is dealt, and the process through which the griever proceeds.

I enjoyed this book. While, like a life, it may be a bit messy, I found it compelling. I’d recommend it for those who enjoy Hemingway.

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BOOK: “This and That” by Ryōkan [trans. by Stan Ziobro and John Slater]

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This and That: Selected Short Poems of Zen Master RyokanThis and That: Selected Short Poems of Zen Master Ryokan by Ryōkan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Publisher Site — Monkfish Books

Release Date: March 24, 2026

This is a new selection of Ryōkan’s short poetry (haiku, tanka, and Chinese-Style poems) as translated by Stan Ziobro and John Slater. Ryōkan was a Buddhist monk who lived across the late 18th / early 19th century. These translations are evocative and present the sometimes whimsical and sometimes haunting work of Ryōkan well. While the forms are just three, i.e. haiku, tanka, and kanshi [Japanese Poetry in the Chinese Style,] the style varies, some being imagist and some being more philosophical. Being a monk, Ryōkan’s work is heavily influenced by a Buddhist worldview, as well as by philosophies that interacted with Buddhism — e.g. Taoism.

While I usually have no basis to judge a translation as translation and am left to reflect on it purely as stand-alone verse, in this case, I have enough experience reading translations of Ryōkan to have a feel for his work. I immediately recognized some of Ryōkan’s more famous poems: e.g. the one’s translated in this book as, “Poems? no way // when you see that my // poems aren’t poems // then we can talk poetry” or “Left behind by thief // bright moon // in my window” Yet, at the same time, I felt the translators left some of their own imprint on the poems, and their influence / voice resonated with me.

The book does have front matter to set the stage for readers, and there is a “Notes” section that includes useful background on the poems. I found this ancillary matter useful, but not excessively verbose or intrusive.

If you enjoy Japanese poetry or Buddhist influenced poetry, I’d highly recommend this selection.

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BOOK: “The Ruins” by Ye Hui [Trans. by Dong Li]

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The Ruins: PoemsThe Ruins: Poems by Hui Ye
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Publisher Site — Deep Vellum

This is a Chinese-English bilingual edition of Ye Hui’s first poetry collection. The poems use stark imagery with occasional instances of philosophizing and surreal statements to create a vivid and provocative set of poems.

As I’m learning Chinese, it was nice to have the original poems in Simplified Chinese script next to the English translations. While I’m not up to a reading level sufficient to taking on Modern Poetry (any poetry for that matter,) it was useful to peruse the Chinese text. I did appreciate how much vibrance the author wrings out of a relatively simple vocabulary.

I’d highly recommend this collection for poetry readers.

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BOOK: “The Wanderer’s Song” by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe [trans. by John Kent]

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The Wanderer's Song: Essential Poems (Pushkin Press Classics)The Wanderer’s Song: Essential Poems by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Publisher Site — Pushkin Press Classics

This is a new translation of select poems of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. It’s a clever and varied set of poems by one of German literature’s all-time greats, a polymath of the 18th and early 19th centuries.

It can be a challenge for a general poetry reader to relate to this work. Over two hundred years since most of these poems were composed, the collection reflects a worldview quite different from that which one finds today. That said, the translations are readable and pleasant and don’t feel strained or clunky, and the collection has instances of sublimity. Having no background in German Literature, I can’t say how true the translations are to source material, but they stood solidly as poems in their own right. The book does offer a substantial introduction by the translator for individuals who are particularly interested in the German literature, translation decisions, or the life of Goethe.

I would recommend this for poetry readers, even though casual readers may find it a bit archaic. If you like the Romantic poets, and haven’t given Goethe a try, it’s well worth the time investment.

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BOOK: “The Immortal Peaches” [Vol. 3 of “Journey to the West”] Ed. by Jeff Pepper / Trans. by Xiao Hui Wang

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The Immortal Peaches: A Story in Simplified Chinese and Pinyin, 600 Word Vocabulary (Journey to the West Book 3)The Immortal Peaches: A Story in Simplified Chinese and Pinyin, 600 Word Vocabulary by Jeff Pepper
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Publisher Site – Imagin8

This is the third volume in this Journey to the West series aimed at language learners. It covers Chapters 5, 6, and 7 of the book, which includes events from Sun Wukong’s return to heaven acknowledged with the title “Great Sage Equal to Heaven” through the conflicts that result from his lack of control and decorum to Buddha’s bet with Monkey King.

I’ve enjoyed this series. The pinyin is interspersed with an abridged and linguistically simplified Chinese telling of the story on a paragraph basis, and the English translation is at the end. This allows one relatively quick access to the pinyin without continually cheating by stray glance. Also, one can determine whether one wants to read the English translation before or after reading the Chinese, as is appropriate to one’s level and language learning strategy. The book also has a glossary of all the Chinese words it uses, and the words beyond the most basic (beyond HSK3, or so) are footnoted. (I read on kindle, so looking up translations of any words is as quick as highlighting them.)

This is a great language learning tool, featuring one of Chinese literature’s most engrossing stories. I’d highly recommend it for those learning Mandarin Chinese with Simplified script.

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BOOK: “Golden Treasury of Quatrains and Octaves” [i.e. 千家诗] Trans. by Xu Yuanchong and Xu Ming

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Golden Treasury of Quatrains & OctavesGolden Treasury of Quatrains & Octaves by Xu. Yuanchong (translator)
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Publisher Site — China Translation Corp

This is the bilingual (Chinese-English) edition of an anthology of Tang and Song Dynasty poems commonly known in Chinese as 千家诗 (it has a much longer formal title,) which was jointly translated by Xu Yuanchong and Xu Ming (no relation.) The book is organized into four parts by the form of poem: 7-character line quatrains, 7-character line octaves, 5-character line quatrains, and 5-character line octaves. The anthology includes poems by Li Bai, Du Fu, Wang Wei, Meng Haoran, Jia Dao, Ouyang Xiu, Yang Wanli, Su Shi, and many other important Tang and Song poets — from Emperors to Hermits. That said, while the aforementioned Chinese title suggests there are works of a thousand poets involved, that’s an exaggeration. (And that’s probably all the better. While this was the golden age of Chinese poetry, going that wide into surviving poetry might involve hitting the dregs.)

Each entry has a title, byline, the poem in Simplified Chinese script and pinyin (Romanized phonetic script,) an English language translation, notes in Chinese, and a line or two of commentary in English. All but the seven-character line octaves take up just one page per poem. (Seven-character line octaves take two pages per poem.)

This is a great anthology. There’s an introduction to give insight into what approach the translators took. They stuck to rhyming verse to emulate the originals in form, but more can be learned from the introduction.

I’d highly recommend this anthology for poetry readers.

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PLAY: “A Streetcar Named Desire” by Tennessee Williams

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A Streetcar Named DesireA Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Available online – Internet Archive

I’ve never seen the play, nor the movie. Of course, this is one of those works that has so scrawled itself across pop-culture that it’s impossible to go in without some reference from it kicking around in one’s brain, be it the pained shout of “STELLA!” or character names like “Blanche DuBois” or “Stanley Kowalski.” Even the name of the plantation on which the fallen socialite sisters grew up, Belle Reve, has been lent to a prison for supernatural villains in the world of DC Comics.

At the play’s heart are two sisters raised in a wealthy Southern family. One, Stella, has adapted well to the family’s fall from grace. Stella has married a fellow who is rough around the edges (to say the least,) Stanley, but Stella is satisfied that Stanley is a dependable provider — even if he does rough her up a bit now and again. The other sister, Blanche, hasn’t coped nearly so well. Blanche lies perpetually to try to shield herself from reality — and to present a more appealing reality to others. It is when Blanche, having nowhere else to go, moves into the small New Orleans apartment of Stanley and Stella that the tension is set to form the play’s story.

I enjoyed reading this play. It’s well-paced and effectively mixes comedy and drama. It’s in character building where the play shines. The main characters are well-defined and behave quite believably within the context of each one’s neuroses and vices. The constant conflict between Blanche and Stanley drives the story.

I’d highly recommend this for readers of plays and / or of American Literature.

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BOOKS: “John Brown” by W.E.B. Du Bois

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John BrownJohn Brown by W.E.B. Du Bois
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Available free online at Project Gutenberg

“John Brown’s Raid on Harpers Ferry” is one of those historic events like the “Teapot Dome Scandal” that American kids have to memorize a rote fact about to regurgitate on an American History test a couple times during their scholastic lives, never to be thought of much again, forever a familiar name lacking all depth of understanding. (At least that’s how it was in my day.) Unlike the Teapot Dome Scandal, which I suspect is not learned about in detail because it was somewhat complex and boring, I think the minimalist coverage of John Brown might reflect a bit of national embarrassment. For Brown’s tale is not complicated, and it’s certainly not boring. Brown thought slavery was an abomination, and he devoted his life to freeing slaves by whatever means he could, which culminated in a raid on an arsenal at Harper’s Ferry, West Virgina, at the convergence of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers, a raid intended to liberate weapons to the cause of arming freed slaves and other abolitionist fighters.

It’s a shame that more is not learned about John Brown because he was such a fascinating and principled individual, and in a sense his story isn’t just an embarrassing tale of a sparse few virtuous people against a mainstream that was — at best — indifferent to slavery. But there is a potential for pride in the fact that Brown and those who fought with him were able to see slavery for what it was and to stand strong against that mainstream, to make the fight of the oppressed their fight and — in the case of Brown and others — to pay the ultimate price in the conduct of that fight.

W.E.B. Du Bois’ biography of John Brown came out in 1909 and may not be written in the novel-esque style that a writer today would write it, but it is well-written and readable. Du Bois’ book is a full biography of Brown, if focused on his abolitionist aspect. Du Bois tells a little of Brown’s backstory and of his work life and then explores his experiences fighting in Kansas. However, this book does really shine in its account of the Harpers Ferry Raid and its aftermath.

Readers interested in American History or the biographies of virtuous individuals are urged to read this account of the life of John Brown.

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BOOK: “Trouble in Heaven” [Vol. 2 “Journey to the West” (西游记) Series] ed. by Jeff Pepper / trans. by Xiao Hui Wang

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Trouble in Heaven: A Story in Simplified Chinese and Pinyin, 600 Word Vocabulary Level (Journey to the West in Simplified Chinese)Trouble in Heaven: A Story in Simplified Chinese and Pinyin, 600 Word Vocabulary Level by Jeff Pepper
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Publisher Site – Imagin8

This is an abridged and linguistically simplified telling of the story of chapters three and four of the Chinese classic novel, Journey to the West. It is written and organized for learners of Chinese who would like to start reading in Chinese.

The events covered in this volume are Monkey King’s (a.k.a. Sun Wukong’s) acquisition of weapons for himself and his companions, his discovery that his name is on the registry of the underworld (and, thus, he’s not as immortal as he’d believed at the end of Vol. 1,) his ascension to heaven where he is given the job of stable manager (a life and job he is happy with until his discovery that it is the lowest level job in heaven,) and his skirmishes with the forces of heaven when he takes on the title “Great Sage Equal to Heaven.”

The story is conveyed in Simplified Chinese script, and has pinyin interspersed at the paragraph level. I like this arrangement because one has access to the pinyin as needed, but it’s not immediately adjacent (as it is with many starter readers,) such that it’s not possible to “cheat” by seeing the pinyin in one’s peripheral vision. It also offers an English language telling of the story, but after the entirety of the Chinese. The book also has three glossaries that collectively define all the terms used in the book. The first contains all the proper nouns, the second is all the basic words, and the last is all the words that are a little outside the most basic reading level. (The latter are also footnoted throughout the text.)

I’m enjoying this series. It’s a gripping story, it’s arranged in a way that encourages one read by the Chinese characters alone, and it is readable by the most beginning level student. That’s a combination that isn’t readily found. I’d highly recommend this series for those learning to read Chinese.


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PROMPT: Cultural Heritage

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What aspects of your cultural heritage are you most proud of or interested in?

I’m not sure whether this prompt is directed toward the culture of my ancestors (Irish) or the culture in which I was raised (American.) If it is the former, then the answer is certainly the great literary and poetic talent that was born of the culture (i.e. Yeats, Wilde, Shaw, Heaney, Beckett, Joyce, etc.) But if it is the latter, then it is certainly the great literary and poetic talent that was born of the culture (i.e. Whitman, Poe, Hemingway, Hughes, Twain, Dickinson, Faulkner, etc.)