Literary Nonfiction. One of the most versatile writers of his generation, Stephen Kessler has distinguished himself over the last forty years as a poet, critic ("certainly the best poetry critic in sight," according to Lawrence Ferlinghetti), translator, novelist, and a wide-ranging journalist. As editor, he founded the international journal Alcatraz (1979-1985) and the Santa Cruz newsweekly The Sun (1986-1989), as well as The Redwood Coast Review (1999-2014). Following his earlier two books of essays, organized around themes of poetry and cultural criticism, in this third collection he gets more personal and political. Kessler's keen eye, sharp wit and readable style—whether reflecting on Viagra, multilingualism, Miss America, fatherhood, Gertrude Stein, anarchism, Robinson Jeffers, the pleasures of gossip, a trip to Cuba, Steve Jobs, Charles Bukowski, or getting mugged in New York—keep his writings vividly alive. The eclectic essays in NEED I SAY MORE? have both the immediacy of the present moment and the lasting value of literature.