Books

The Wounds of History

Roberto Lovato’s Unforgetting chronicles public and private wars.

Drive, He Said
Tom Zoellner’s The National Road seeks to take the measure of Americ…
“Aunt Jemima is the Picture of the American Dream”
Anastacia-Reneé is a Seattle-based poet, artist, and educator who wa…
Low & Leaving
Anastacia-Reneé finds multiple meaning in this poem from Alta's Wint…
Daughter
In one of four poems published in Alta’s Fall 2020 issue, Anastacia-…
Nov 17, 2020
“In Case You Forgot, I Am Not Your Negro” (for James Baldwin)

Anastacia-Reneé, a two-time Pushcart nominee, penned this achingly timeless prose.
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Nov 16, 2020
The Better Angels of His Nature

In Every Day We Get More Illegal, Juan Felipe Herrera doubles down on hope.
Nov 9, 2020
A Parable of Paradox

In The Arrest, Jonathan Lethem imagines a world in the throes of apocalypse.
Nov 6, 2020
Talking with Eddie Muller
The Czar of Noir sets his sights on recruiting young fans, taking film festivals online, and the return of his fictional sportswriter, …
Nov 2, 2020
Kindred Spirits

Lynell George channels Octavia E. Butler in A Handful of Earth, A Handful of Sky.
Oct 30, 2020
Talking with Keenan Norris
The author of “One Coyote” describes writing about the Inland Empire, his family’s history of activist athletes, and what he misses mos…
Oct 26, 2020
Live Through This

In A Kingdom of Tender Colors, Seth Greenland recalls his cancer diagnosis and recovery with humor and grace.
Oct 12, 2020
Fractured Fairy Tales

With Likes, Sarah Shun-lien Bynum makes magic out of the mundane.
Oct 9, 2020
The Past Comes Alive in a Ghost Town

The story lends some historical context to C Pam Zhang’s novel.
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Sep 29, 2020
Four Books in the Tradition of Chandler

Biographer Judith Freeman names titles that keep the mood going.

Sep 14, 2020
The Best of the West

Get to know the California Book Club.
Sep 1, 2020
Summons: A Poem

D.A. Powell's 'Summons' is one of three of his poems to appear in Alta‘s Summer 2020 issue.
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Aug 25, 2020
Bat Boy: A Poem

D.A. Powell, a Bay Area writer and educator, finds poetry in America’s favorite pastime.

Aug 12, 2020
What’s Love Got to Do with It?

Alfred Hayes writes with excruciating irony in The End of Me.
Jul 27, 2020
The Anonymous Bard

They were the first poems published in a California newspaper. But who wrote them? An improbable friendship may hold the clue.