“So much in writing depends on the superficiality of one’s days. One may be preoccupied with shopping and income tax returns and chance conversations, but the stream of the unconscious continues to flow undisturbed, solving problems, planning ahead: one sits down sterile and dispirited at the desk, and suddenly the words come as though from [...]
“…a detective must find it as important as a novelist to amass his trivial material before picking out the right clue. But how difficult that picking out is–the release of the real subject…Now that I come to write my own story the problem is still the same, but worse–there are so many more facts, now [...]
Lauren Barnholdt, author of Reality Chick, stops by with her literary soundtrack.
1) the soundtrack to your latest book (what did you listen to while you were writing it?)
Oooh, I listened to all kinds of stuff while writing REALITY CHICK. A lot of Gavin Degraw, Lifehouse, and Matchbox Twenty. Also a lot of pop [...]
One of my former MFA students just emailed me with a burning question that’s on the mind of many MFA graduates:
I was wondering if you could give me a bit of advice about the teaching world, like how you went about getting your first job. Did you start out with college or did you work [...]
There’s a new litzine on the cyberblock, Ward6 Review, edited by Les Kay. The mag is now seeking submissions of fiction (2,000 words & under) and poetry, as well as memoir and reviews. Kay’s tastes are exacting but he’s eager to work with new talent, so don’t be shy–if you have something swell, send it [...]
Check out Erika Meitner’s new poem, Vinyl-Sided Epiphany, in Slate. Sample line:
“The bullets we thought were firecrackers
turned out to be bullets…”
Ed Champion has a really interesting interview with John Updike up on the fiftieth installment of the Bat Segundo Show. Updike talks at length about his new book, Terrorist, as well as about his politics (and aversion to politics), from Vietnam to the present day.
This excerpt from Emma Larkin’s Finding George Orwell in Burma seemed particularly appropos today:
The world of Nineteen Eighty-Four is divided into three powerful superstates…These three states are permanently at war with each other, fighting in the murky frontier areas between their territories…the war serves no purpose other than to boost nationalism and support for each [...]
Michelle Tea says: People! I, Michelle Tea, will be interviewed by the accomplished and fashionable poet, writer and arts advocate Jewelle Gomez, on Tuesday, July 18th, at the Commonwealth Club. If you were looking for a sort of fancy event where you slurp wine and nibble cheese while wearing your cutest shoes, this is maybe [...]
Joshilyn Jackson, author of Gods in Alabama and, most recently, Between, Georgia, her second #1 Booksense Pick, stops by with her literary soundtrack. The novel received starred reviews from both Booklist and Kirkus. If you want to get a taste of Joshilyn’s winning voice, check out her blog, Faster than Kudzu.
1) the soundtrack to your [...]
