Kevin O’Rourke – Page 5 – Michigan Quarterly Review

Kevin O’Rourke

Kevin O’Rourke lives in Philadelphia, where he works in publishing. His first book, the essay collection As If Seen at an Angle, was published by Tinderbox Editions; he is currently working on several follow-up books, including a memoir about surviving suicide. Work on this project has been supported by a grant from 4Culture. He is also a senior science/research writer and editor, and has covered everything from mitochondrial research, to global health financing, to COVID-19. His creative work has appeared in a number of journals, including Big Muddy Journal and Seneca Review, among others. A member of the NBCC, he is an active book and arts critic; his criticism has appeared in the Los Angeles Review of Books, Kenyon Review, and Michigan Quarterly Review.

Fred Astaire and the Blackface Talking

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One might argue that blackface performances of the thirties and forties (and earlier) are so far in the past and such a product of their time as to be beyond judgment, but I’d disagree. I’d rather assessments of artists be made with knowledge of their warts and all.

Fred Astaire and the Blackface Talking Read More »

One might argue that blackface performances of the thirties and forties (and earlier) are so far in the past and such a product of their time as to be beyond judgment, but I’d disagree. I’d rather assessments of artists be made with knowledge of their warts and all.

Required Reading: Dan Beachy-Quick’s “Of Silence and Song”

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Of Silence and Song doesn’t just reward close, attentive reading. In fact, it demands it. Of Silence and Song is a highly lyric book, advancing a series of impressions rather than the march of a central, tightly reasoned argument.

Required Reading: Dan Beachy-Quick’s “Of Silence and Song” Read More »

Of Silence and Song doesn’t just reward close, attentive reading. In fact, it demands it. Of Silence and Song is a highly lyric book, advancing a series of impressions rather than the march of a central, tightly reasoned argument.

A Bird on Fire, Stuffed Inside Another Normal-Looking Bird: Meg Freitag’s “Edith”

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Confessional poetry—particularly work that deals with the end of a relationship—is exceptionally tricky to pull off without coming across as navel-gazing and self-centered. Edith, however, is a remarkable work of pathos, using the inward gaze to illuminate both the self and everything around that self.

A Bird on Fire, Stuffed Inside Another Normal-Looking Bird: Meg Freitag’s “Edith” Read More »

Confessional poetry—particularly work that deals with the end of a relationship—is exceptionally tricky to pull off without coming across as navel-gazing and self-centered. Edith, however, is a remarkable work of pathos, using the inward gaze to illuminate both the self and everything around that self.

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