ALAN McGUIRE welcomes a biography of the French semiologist and philosopher
A poetic pilgrimage through Latin America
LEO BOIX talks to Richard Gwyn about Latin American poetry, translation and enduring literary friendships
(L) Clockwise from top L: Chilean poets Raul Zurita and Veronica Zondek; Mexican poet Daniel Samoilovich and Colombian poet Piedad Bonnett; (R) welsh poet and translator Richard Gwyn
[Rodrigo Fernandez/CC; Eliasignacio1996/CC; Antonio Nava/CC; Razon Publica Revista/CC; Dolmen] 
ALEX HALL is frustrated by a book that ducks a clear definition of terrorism and fails to perceive the role of the state in sponsoring it
JOE GILL wholeheartedly recommends an eloquent manifesto: how to change the world one local project at a time
Inspired by a photograph, a unique memorial in Michigan immortalises US true labour heroes. MICHAL BONCZA recalls a great story rarely told
MARIA DUARTE, LEO BOIX and ANGUS REID review Brides, Dead of Winter, A Night Like This, and The Librarians
MARIA DUARTE is entertained by a wry portrait of befuddled resistance to US authoritarianism
“WHEN I was 15, I read all of Che Guevara’s works,” says Richard Gwyn. “So, when I went to university, I was particularly interested in the anthropology of certain Latin American communities… There was a mix of different influences. Discovering Gabriel Garcia Marquez, of course, and Jorge Luis Borges… These things all contributed to a kind of fascination, which was slightly dreamy, based on ideas I didn't fully comprehend.”
That’s how Gwyn began his interest in Latin America as a student, leading him many years later to travel to that vast region in search of poets for a landmark anthology.
A first visit to the International Poetry Festival in Granada, Nicaragua, convinced him of the need to produce an anthology of recent poetry from Latin America, which eventually became The Other Tiger (Seren, 2016).
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LEO BOIX selects the best books of fiction, poetry, and non-fiction written by Latinx and Latin American authors published this year
Mexican Yuri Herrera’s novel about Benito Juarez in New Orleans, and poetry by Mexican Fabio Morabito and Argentine Sergio Chejfec