Potpourri: Confusing & Senseless Politics; Taipei Book Fair; Rest in Peace, Kiah Duggins

Book club Hisham Matar's MY FRIENDS, plus Ukraine solidarity event in Taiwan

Dear readers,

Albert and Michelle here. Apologies for being out of touch. It’s been non-stop since the Lunar New Year, and we’ve been feeling overwhelmed and blocked. A couple of links first: Michelle has two things out, a review of Yang Shuangzi’s Taiwan Travelogue at China Books Review and an interview with Hannah Taieb about teaching the poetry of W.S. Merwin in prison in Transatlantica.

Like many of you, we’ve been stunned and infuriated by the current political moment, and are reeling to make sense of it all. Perhaps the most shameful moment for the United States came when President Trump said that Ukraine had started the war, and, roughly at the same time, J.D. Vance, in his arrogance and entitlement, trashed the international alliance and institutions that the U.S. have supported since World War II.

The losses have been heartbreaking and senseless. From federal workers in national parks who pick our trash to air traffic controllers who prevent crashes, good and hard-working peop…