Yelizaveta P. Renfro


Yelizaveta P. Renfro is the author of a collection of short stories, A Catalogue of Everything in the World (Black Lawrence Press, 2010), winner of the St. Lawrence Book Award. Her fiction and nonfiction have appeared in Glimmer Train Stories, North American Review, Colorado Review, Alaska Quarterly Review, South Dakota Review, Witness, Reader’s Digest, Blue Mesa Review, Parcel, Adanna, Fourth River, Bayou Magazine, Untamed Ink, So to Speak, and elsewhere. She holds an MFA from George Mason University and a Ph.D. from the University of Nebraska.


31 entries by Yelizaveta P. Renfro

Book Review

Dreaming of Ramadi in Detroit: Essays

By Aisha Sabatini Sloan

Dreaming of Ramadi in Detroit: Essays

Penetrating observations elevate this singular collection.

Book Review

The God of Endings

By Jacqueline Holland

The God of Endings

This sweeping vampire epic swings for the fences — and misses.

Book Review

Alphabetical Diaries

By Sheila Heti

Alphabetical Diaries

These inwardly focused ruminations are alternately solipsistic and sublime.

Book Review

Strangers to Ourselves

By Rachel Aviv

Strangers to Ourselves

An empathetic look at the power of personal mental-health narratives.

Book Review

Pockets: An Intimate History of How We Keep Things Close

Unpacking the gendered politics behind those purposeful pouches.

Book Review

To Dye For: How Toxic Fashion Is Making Us Sick — and How We Can Fight Back

Exposing the unhealthy truth behind the clothes we wear.

Book Review

Monsters: A Fan’s Dilemma

By Claire Dederer

Monsters: A Fan’s Dilemma

What to do with beautiful art from wicked artists?

Book Review

The God of Endings: A Novel

By Jacqueline Holland

The God of Endings: A Novel

This sweeping vampire epic swings for the fences — and misses.

Book Review

Mothers, Fathers, and Others

By Siri Hustvedt

Mothers, Fathers, and Others

An erudite, thoughtful collection from a master of the form.

Book Review

The Wrong End of the Telescope

By Rabih Alameddine

The Wrong End of the Telescope

This ambitious refugee/LGBTQ+ tale rewards patient readers.

Book Review

Strangers to Ourselves: Unsettled Minds and the Stories That Make Us

An empathetic look at the power of personal mental-health narratives.

Book Review

Unfollow Me

By Jill Louise Busby

Unfollow Me

An influencer confronts her online persona.

Book Review

Kids in America: A Gen X Reckoning

A mixed-bag reflection on a singular generation.

Book Review

Mothers, Fathers, and Others: Essays

An erudite, thoughtful collection from a master of the form.

Book Review

The Wrong End of the Telescope: A Novel

This ambitious refugee/LGBTQ+ tale rewards patient readers.

Book Review

Of Bears and Ballots

By Heather Lende

Of Bears and Ballots

A timely reminder that running for office doesn’t need to be a blood sport.

Book Review

Edge Case: A Novel

By YZ Chin

Edge Case: A Novel

An immigrant navigates racism and casual misogyny in this wry, clever tale.

Book Review

Girlhood

By Melissa Febos

Girlhood

This thought-provoking essay collection lays bare some of the many hurdles and paradoxes faced by women young and old.

Book Review

Of Bears and Ballots: An Alaskan Adventure in Small-Town Politics

A timely reminder that running for office doesn’t need to be a blood sport.

Book Review

Bird Summons: A Novel

By Leila Aboulela

Bird Summons: A Novel

This moving meditation on gender, religion, and culture is overwhelmed by bloated magical realism.

Book Review

How to Leave

By Erin Clune

How to Leave

Escaping the Big Apple in favor of flyover country.

Book Review

When the Plums Are Ripe: A Novel

By Patrice Nganang; translated by Amy B. Reid

When the Plums Are Ripe: A Novel

This literary exploration of Cameroon’s role in WWII demonstrates how every soldier must fight his own war.

Book Review

The Cost of Living

By Deborah Levy

The Cost of Living

The author tells her life story as a work-in-progress and encourages readers to do the same.

Book Review

How to Leave: Quitting the City and Coping with a New Reality

Escaping the Big Apple in favor of flyover country.

Book Review

The Cost of Living: A Working Autobiography

The author tells her life story as a work-in-progress and encourages readers to do the same.

Book Review

And So Is the Bus: Jerusalem Stories

By Yossel Birstein; translated by Margaret Birstein, Hana Inbar, and Robert Manaster

And So Is the Bus: Jerusalem Stories

Spare tales of fascinating, fleeting encounters.

Book Review

Mislaid: A Novel

By Nell Zink

Mislaid: A Novel

With acerbic wit and keen observations, a visionary author tackles the fraught world of "passing."

Book Review

The Happiest People in the World: A Novel

Thin characterizations are overwhelmed by plot twists in this tale of a Danish cartoonist in hiding.

Book Review

The Sixteenth of June: A Novel

The author attempts a modern take on the classic Ulysses.

Book Review

Queen Sugar: A Novel

By Natalie Baszile

Queen Sugar: A Novel

A vibrant novel detailing life in the South and the backbreaking, brutal, yet rewarding life that is sugarcane farming today.

Book Review

Lucia Perillo

Happiness Is a Chemical in the Brain: Stories

Fourteen deft stories populate this debut fiction collection by the award-winning poet.