‘Lie With Me’: Beauty, Love and Toxic Masculinity in the Gay ’80s
How do we write about repression and toxic masculinity without valorizing it? Philippe Besson's Lie With Me is equal parts poignant tribute and glaring warning.
Rhea Rollmann
Rhea Rollmann is a writer, editor, and broadcaster based in Canada. Rhea is a reporter/editor with the online media publication The Independent (TheIndependent.ca) and Program Director at community radio station CHMR-FM. Rhea can be reached by email at hansnf [at] gmail or on Twitter @hansnf.
How the Template for Modern Combat Journalism Developed
The superbly researched Journalism and the Russo-Japanese War tells readers how Japan pioneered modern techniques of propaganda and censorship.
Claude McKay’s ‘Romance in Marseille’ Is Ahead of Its Time
Claude McKay's Romance in Marseille -- only recently published -- pushes boundaries on sexuality, disability, identity -- all in gorgeous poetic prose.
‘Spring Rain’ Is a Superb Graphic Memoir of the Vagaries of Mind and Memory
Andy Warner's style of narrative in Spring Rain is evocative of those visual puzzles that require the viewer to look beyond the image in front of them, letting their eyes relax into an indirect gaze, in order for the hidden picture to reveal itself.
Remember to Come up for Air When You Read ‘They Say Sarah’
Debut They Say Sarah is a vivid impressionistic novel that churns the entire emotional spectrum.
Mieko Kawakami’s ‘Breasts and Eggs’ Is a Feminist Masterpiece
Fearless in its demand for accountability, transcendent in its honesty, Mieko Kawakami's Breasts and Eggs breathes life into feminist literature and throws down a gauntlet for other writers to aspire toward.
Die Wilde Jagd Dazzles with Dark, Groovy, Techno-Naturalist Soundscapes on ‘Haut’
Natural and electronic worlds merge with mystic atmospheres and irrepressible beats on Die Wilde Jagd's third album, Haut.
Comedy, Pathos, and Bibliophilia Merge in Jean Giono’s Wartime Journal
In addition to its literary significance, Jean Giono's newly translated Occupation Journal is also an important reminder of the value of pacifism in a world where over-eager partisanship is once more merging with the enthusiastic violence of political dogma.
Graphic Novel ‘Big Black’ Is a Stunning Depiction of the Attica Prison Uprising
Fifty years ago Attica prisoners rose up for justice -- and were slaughtered. Graphic novel Big Black: Stand at Attica is a powerful story from a survivor's point of view.
‘Trans Power’ Is a Celebration of Radical Power and Beauty
Juno Roche's Trans Power discusses trans identity not as a passageway between one of two linear destinations, but as a destination of its own.
When You Discover Your Father Had an Affair with Frida Kahlo…
The story of one of Frida Kahlo’s short affairs, captured by Marc Petitjean, offers an inspired glimpse into the surreal Parisian art scene of 1939
Queer Love and Art in the Time of Nazis: ‘Never Anyone But You’
Never Anyone But You is an inspiring tale of surrealists Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore, who defied homophobia, Nazis, and gender norms while pushing the boundaries of art and love.