River Volta Review of Books

The River Volta Review of Books (RVRB) is edited and published by the University of Saskatchewan’s MFA in Writing. We publish book reviews and short essays.

[River Volta Review of Books @VoltaReview]

"Despite its title, Laird’s collection explores the ways in which we're tethered and the desire for freedom that might engender in us."

Read the rest of Josiah Nelson's book review of Nick Laird's poetry collection Feel Free here: https://t.co/b1l4xff520

[River Volta Review of Books @VoltaReview]

"MacLeod’s exploration of his narrator’s interiority expands into a meditation on concepts, categories, and the privileging or de-privileging of human agency."

Read the rest of Owen Schalk's analysis of Alexander MacLeod's short story "Lagomorph" here: https://t.co/1bId67DQ5t

[River Volta Review of Books @VoltaReview]

"Ann Marie Hourihane’s latest non-fiction book meditates on how the Irish handle death with a unique blend of…the funny bits, the sad bits, and the hard-to-explain bits..."

Read the rest of Aliza Prodaniuk's book review here: https://t.co/pfVoLbr4wf

[River Volta Review of Books @VoltaReview]

"I read some writing advice somewhere – and I can’t remember who wrote or said this – but the line was: 'Write what haunts you, not what interests you.' And that stuck with me."

Read the rest of Kristine Scarrow's interview with Chelsea Coupal here:
https://t.co/D5JbhMCCqK

[River Volta Review of Books @VoltaReview]

"I have to say that maybe the biggest joy I take from writing is the surprise of a good sentence, but also the surprise of your character doing something you never imagined, or planned."

Read the rest of Walker Pityn's interview with Bill Gaston here: https://t.co/lTjhTvOWqU

[River Volta Review of Books @VoltaReview]

"Sometimes when you are writing a poem, you are just trying to describe some insight you had, but with these poems, I felt like I was actively fighting with this language that was attempting to reshape reality."

Read Joanne Leow's interview here: https://t.co/Qr5BV3OkwK

[River Volta Review of Books @VoltaReview]

To close our newest issue, we have Gunnar Ohberg's interview with Kristyn Dunnion!

“I resist the convention of committing to a single modality within the vast artistic universe, or to a single genre in all of literature”

Read the interview here: https://t.co/XjfParOI39

[River Volta Review of Books @VoltaReview]

When asked if he could sit with a writer in history and ask them a question, Guy Vanderhaeghe said, “I would ask Chekhov whether he thought he was a better playwright than short story writer.”

Read the interview here: https://t.co/FJzrQXkeCP

[River Volta Review of Books @VoltaReview]

��It's the end of the world and Catherine Pierce knows it. Her most recent poetry collection, Danger Days (2020), provides an unflinching reckoning on the fraught relationship between humanity and nature”

Read the rest of Gunnar Ohberg's review here: https://t.co/3pCLuDVfyv

[River Volta Review of Books @VoltaReview]

“Sentence structure is heartrate, right? You’re designing sentences to control the reader’s heartrate. There’s nothing more elemental than that.”

Read the rest of Karen Woods' interview with Merilyn Simonds here: https://t.co/OqLFspmwZa

[River Volta Review of Books @VoltaReview]

“The first chapter is very important for me in setting up my story. It takes me forever to write the first chapter. ... However, when I get the first chapter done, I know where I’m going.”

Read the rest of Aliza Prodaniuk's interview with Gail Bowen here: https://t.co/NYIaDnLzOA

[River Volta Review of Books @VoltaReview]

Thank you to all our contributors and to our editors: Brandon Fick, @poetgerby, Aliza Prodaniuk, and Özten Shebahkeget. Huge thank you to @sheribenning, our amazing faculty supervisor!

[River Volta Review of Books @VoltaReview]

Hello friends! Just here to tell you some superb news: the newest issue of River Volta Review of Books has dropped!

Read the new issue here: https://t.co/7JlePWqAie

[River Volta Review of Books @VoltaReview]

We've got interviews with Gail Bowen, Guy Vanderhaeghe, Merilyn Simonds, and Kristyn Dunnion! We've got book reviews that will make you add *another* book to your TBR list. In short, this is an issue you don't want to miss!

[River Volta Review of Books @VoltaReview]

"Therapy is extremely useful, and I wanted to highlight the great humor people possess that is so essential to one’s survival."

Read Özten Shebahkeget interview with Louise Halfe – Sky Dancer here: https://t.co/mVVhFGcwal

[River Volta Review of Books @VoltaReview]

"Filled with evocative images, stunning beauty and violence, Allan Safarik’s Blood of Angels is a collection I would recommend to those who typically avoid poetry."

Read Brandon Fick's review of Allan Safarik’s Blood of Angels here: https://t.co/22IAf3OgQw

[River Volta Review of Books @VoltaReview]

"Whether it’s for the magic, delicious language, or beautiful layout, The Honey Month is the perfect book for anyone who likes a bit of magic and honey in their lives." Read Amanda Dawson's review of Amal El-Mohtar's The Honey Month here: https://t.co/RVCxxVOx88

[River Volta Review of Books @VoltaReview]

"Novel(la): a concise, women-centric narrative that crosses genres and defies easy categorisation. The boundaries between short stories, novellas, and novels have always been riddled with slippage."

Read the rest of Allie McFarland's essay on craft here: https://t.co/zFc9Ambg75

[River Volta Review of Books @VoltaReview]

"I feel my responsibilities first and foremost are to the people who share stories with me, and to the cultures and communities they come from." Read more of Özten Shebahkeget's interview with Waubgeshig Rice here: https://t.co/4ysLi3ZXTi

[River Volta Review of Books @VoltaReview]

It's an issue you don't want to miss!

Read the issue here: https://t.co/7JlePWqAie

[River Volta Review of Books @VoltaReview]

Our 2021 Spring/Summer issue is now live! Interviews with Lenard Monkman, Louise Halfe, and Waubgeshig Rice; book reviews on works by Sarah Ens, Natasha Ramoutar, Amal El-Mohtar, Louise Halfe, Jan Zwicky, and Allan Safarik; and essays by Allie McFarland.