Welcome to Issue Six of The Toronto Review of Books, our charismatic first offering in a new punchier issue format. In this single-sitting issue size, we’re cutting through the noise to bring you six pieces that matter. You’ll attend succinct gatherings in our new short issues—the kind of conversations that are worth joining because they’re big enough to be sundry and small enough to be intimate.

In Issue Six, the chat travels wide and far. Language battles in Pakistani literature come into relief in Meghan Davidson Ladly’s story about Challawa, a work of Urdu lesbian erotica. Two essays look at the state of Canadian history: Michael Morden reviews 1812.gc.ca, the portal for the Harper Government’s commemorations of the War of 1812, and Mark Sholdice covers the venomous struggles of politicians and academics as they bat the tennis ball of Canadian history from Left to Right. Alessandro Porco’s poem puts “unused sound” and “curcles with no circumference” on display. Rob Sternberg brings us along with Denis Johnson on a dusky Californian road trip. Yaya Yao knits generations and dialects in a few syllables.

In Issue Six you’ll find a smashing party with well-played syntax, a whisper in the right direction, a nod to some thoughts for the spring and the summer, a shout to the clouds that be.

To toast this new arrival, join us at The Ossington (61 Ossington Ave) at 8pm on Tuesday, May 7 for our Issue Six launch party, featuring Yaya Yao, poetry from 1812, Shawn Micallef, and a screening of Heritage Minutes.