For Mixtape #5, the masthead recommends recent favorites and cherished classics from independent presses.
Farah Bakaari, editor-in-chief: In the last few months, MTC published thoughtful reviews, essays, and interviews on books recently published by small indie presses, including Ketan Jain review of Sulaiman Addonia’s The Seers; Omid Bagherli’s interview with Omar Khalifah, the author of Qabid al-Raml (Sand-Catcher); Ryan Lackey’s review of Mark Haber’s Lesser Ruins; Matthew Beeber’s on Joseph Andras’s recent book, Faraway the Southern Sky, translated from the French by Simon Leser; Martin Dolan’s essay on Marijam Did’s Everything to Play For. Shout out to our indomitable books editor, Bekah Waalkes!! Upcoming reviews include the recent English translation of Rrevathi: A life in Trans Activism, Immemorial by Lauren Markham, Weijia Pan’s Motherlands, and so much more! I encourage you to check out these and the rest of our books coverage.
As for my recommendations: I have to go with Deesha Philyaw’s The Secret Lives of Church Ladies for a delicious absorbing and thought-provoking collection. Also, if you want to hit the reset button on your broken or bruised attention span this summer with a long formidable novel, I suggest Kintu by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi. For criticism, Sarah Dowling’s Here Is a Figure. For poetry: […] by Fady Joudah and At the End of the World There is a Pond by Steven Duong.
Marissa Fenley, associate editor: Everything for Everyone: An Oral History of the New York Commune 2052–2072 by M. E. O’Brien and Eman Abdelhadi
Martha Henzy, associate editor: To recover from my PhD defense, I have been re-reading a lot of classics, most recently the Broadview edition of Dracula. Next on my list is Solenoid by Mircea Cărtărescu.
Jay Shelat, staff editor: Owlish by Dorothy Tse, translated from the Chinese by Natascha Bruce; Uranians by Theodore McCombs; We Refuse: A Forceful History of Black Resistance by Kellie Carter Jackson; Quarterlife by Devika Rege
Olivia Stowell, tv & film editor: Still Born by Guadalupe Nettel and The Coin by Yasmin Zaher
Mitch Therieau, contributing writer: The Employees by Olga Ravn.
Bekah Waalkes, books editor: Journey to the Edge of Life by Tezer Özlü and Lesser Ruins by Mark Haber
MTC Mixtapes: asks our editors, writers, and readers to share their responses to a particular question about something they’re loving, hating, fascinated by, or curious about right now.
Thumbnail photo by Tom Juggins on Unsplash