Monthly Archive:: August 2011
America Pacifica
America Pacifica: A Novel Anna North Reagan Arthur Books, May 2011 304 pages $24.99 In her debut novel, Anna North dares to enter the dystopic territory staked out by the ruling high priestesses of literary speculative fiction, Margaret Atwood and Octavia E. Butler: America Pacifica features an ordinary heroine with
Why I Reread The Writer’s Chapbook
I love The Writer’s Chapbook. Compiled by the late, great George Plimpton from the Paris Review’s Writers at Work series, this volume is a collection of wisdom from 20th Century writers about anything and everything literary, from first efforts to children’s books, from sex to writers’ colonies (which often
Reflections on Lorrie Moore
We’re pleased to present the second reader review following our weekly Free Ploughshares contest. Today, reader Lynette D’Amico will be looking at our Fall 1998 issue, guest edited by Lorrie Moore. Ploughshares Fall 1998 Fiction Issue, guest-edited by Lorrie Moore. Featuring work by Mona Simpson, Charles Baxter, and
A Reader Recalls Gish Jen
Thanks to everyone who has been entering our weekly Free Ploughshares contest! Today we are featuring a reader review of our Fall 2000 issue guest edited by Gish Jen, whose writing helped reader Christina A. Hitchcock introduce a new voice and perspective to her students. Ploughshares Fall 2010,
Better Late
According to my medievalist spouse, Geoffrey Chaucer entered into the prime of his literary career, which has spanned the intervening five centuries, around the age of 40. Presumably he was writing some things before that, and we can quibble about whether to count as major The Book of the
Orientation
Orientation Daniel Orozco Faber & Faber, May 2011 176 pages $23.00 In The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work,) a book of essays and photos, Alain de Botton attempts an “exploration of the joys and perils of the modern workplace, beautifully evoking what other people get up to all day—and
A Conversation with Kim Addonizio
I got a chance to sit down with Kim Addonizio and talk about poetry, the blues, and her new rock and roll band Nonstop Beautiful Ladies. PK: The relationship between poetry and music has long been a contentious one. Ezra Pound in ABC of Reading argued that “poetry
Free Ploughshares: Mark Doty
It’s time for week seven of our Free Ploughshares Summer Contest! This week we’re offering our Spring 1999 issue, guest edited by Mark Doty and featuring poems and stories from writers such as Sharon Olds, Lucille Clifton, Tony Hoagland, and many more. In order to win, simply comment below
Dhaka Dust
Dhaka Dust Dilruba Ahmed Graywolf Press, June 2011 88 pages $15.00 “Can’t occupy the same space at the same time,” begins the title poem of Dhaka Dust, Dilruba Ahmed’s impressive debut collection. And yet Ahmed’s work, situated across the Midwestern United States, Bangladesh, and Europe, often occupies more than
Occupational Hazard
I started writing “Occupational Hazard” eight years ago, out at the Marin Headlands Center for the Arts. I had a bedroom/studio in an old house, former officer’s quarters, and I found myself sleepy all the time. It was so quiet, there—a break from my Tenderloin apartment in the city—and