New York Times / December 12, 2020

I’m uncomfortable using the word “best” on a list — in part because I am just one person whose tastes are subjective. More so, to me it implies that I’ve read every book that came out in 2020 and can therefore rank them like brands of peanut butter (which seem more finite). I didn’t read them all, or even close — I wish my life made that possible.

The Harvard Crimson / December 29, 2020

In any historical retelling, the use of individual memory can be tricky. On one hand, uncovering personal experiences can be deeply valuable, adding a human quality to generalized historical records of the past. On the other hand, using memory to craft narratives presents particular challenges when those stories pertain to war and national violence — which stories are amplified, and which are suppressed? How does one account for the voices that are inevitably left behind?

frieze / January 03, 2021

No neat fixes from 2020, a year ripe with human-induced atrocities. As is every 12-month cycle, of course, but this one was special. Bushfires, wildfires, murder hornets. Rayshard Brooks, George Floyd, Casey Goodson, Elijah McClain, Breonna Taylor – to name only a few of the Black folks killed by police in the US. We trespassed on animal ecologies. Now, contagion reigns, dictating where we wander. Demagogues dominate landmasses on multiple continents. We should stop saying: ‘It’s like a movie.’ At this point, blockbusters are looking to us for inspiration.  

NPR / October 06, 2020

The National Book Foundation has announced the 25 finalists for this year's National Book Awards, in the categories of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, literature in translation, and young people's literature.

NBC news / November 19, 2020

The 71st National Book Awards ceremony — which was virtual — has wrapped up, having announced five winners across the National Book Foundation's five categories: Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Translated Literature, and Young People’s Literature. The National Book Foundation's winners for the 2020 National Book Awards — as well as the finalists — will cater to seasoned readers and budding book-lovers alike. If you want to take a look at what books won this year, we compiled all of them below, including both finalists and the longlist for each category, as well.

lareviewofbooks / December 02, 2020

A 1.5-GENERATION Korean American living in St. Louis, such as myself, will most likely never realize the fact that they’re living near the 38th parallel north until they come across DMZ Colony, the latest collection of poems by the poet-translator Don Mee Choi, whose opening section takes place in St. Louis. Snow geese say to Choi, “SEE YOU AT DMZ,” flying over Forest Park in formation for three pages, figures in the distant canvas of the sky. Choi has replaced the geese with letters, as though the letters were stick figures representing the geese: Ds on the first page, Ms on the second page, Zs on the third page.