Author Archive

The Literary Flash Mob: A Call to Mischief

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This November, word went out on a network of Boston-area choral singers: a flash mob was being proposed, and the organizers wanted to know who was game. About forty of us signed on, learned the parts we’d been assigned on the group’s Facebook page, and then—following one quick rehearsal—staked

Writing Fiction, Writing Plays, Writing Voice: an Interview with Carol Gilligan

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I first met Carol Gilligan in 1994. I’d read In a Different Voice in college, and had been intrigued by that book’s observation that women’s voices change the moral conversation…so when I met Carol I was prepared to see her through the lens of that groundbreaking work and all

Radio Drama and the Written Word

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  I once spent a year working as literary editor for a group that produced radio plays—dramatic adaptations of American short stories, which were then broadcast on NPR and BBC. Though I was never more than a novice in the radio world, I loved it—the collaboration, the energy of

Literary Friendship Across Political Borders

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If there exists a more solid foundation than this for a literary friendship, I can’t think of it: My words prompted readers to sever their connection with the publication. And my editor stood by me. This is the second in a two-part blog about Hala Salah Eldin Hussein, an

An Interview with Hala Salah Eldin Hussein

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I’m delighted to devote this week’s blog post to someone who is taking a bold stand for literature. Three years ago, my agent forwarded me an e-mail from an editor/translator in Cairo. Hala Salah Eldin Hussein was interested in publishing some of my work in Arabic translation in her

Unrequited Love Letters

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A few weeks ago, my nine-year-old daughter handed me the first love note she’d ever received. It was a white paper napkin tied with a bit of shiny blue ribbon. Below the ribbon were pink magic-marker dots and a green number 1. A boy had slipped it into the