It's that time again!

{Photo by rocketlass.}

My midweek return from my vacation in Japan, which meant a return to the office and overflowing inboxes of all sorts, has left me feeling a bit behind. {"Wait," you're probably saying, "because of the International Date Line, didn't you get two Wednesdays last week? Shouldn't you be ahead rather than behind?" Um, I suppose. But really, what's one to do with a supernumerary Wednesday?} So while I promise that I'll write soon about the trip--or at the very least about the one book I ended up reading while there, The Tale of Genji--today I'll just direct you to the newest issue of the Quarterly Conversation, which went up this weekend.

In Issue 15 you'll find a review of Cesar Aira's Ghosts (which I'm definitely going to have to pick up); a review of Ron Silliman's new 1,000-page book of poems, The Alphabet; an essay by George Fragapoulos with the irresistible title of "Ten Theses on the Nature of Metafiction (and a Parenthetical Review of Salvador Plascencia's The People of Paper"; as well as my review of Tomaz Salamun's poetry collection Woods and Chalices. Oh, and there's a contest: in 200 words or less, tell the editors about a book they've never heard of but should pick up right now, and you could win $65 in credit on the website of my favorite bookstore, the Seminary Co-op.

I'm also excited to announce that I will be taking on the role of poetry editor for the Quarterly Conversation starting with the next issue. So if you come across any new books of poetry that you think I absolutely shouldn't miss, please don't hesitate to drop me a line.