Authors Archive
Literary Enemies: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie vs. Maud Casey
Literary Enemies: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie vs. Maud Casey Disclaimer: I bet they’d love each other. There are two authors who have a special place on the fiction shelves at the bookstore where I work. The first is Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, though “on the fiction shelves” isn’t quite an accurate
“Slipperiness of Signification”: An Interview with Lee Ann Roripaugh
In her most recent book, Dandarians (Milkweed, 2014), Lee Ann Roripaugh writes in the borderland between poetry and prose, blurring boundaries and finding the unfamiliar music in everyday language. She is also the author of three previous books of poetry, including Year of the Snake, which won the Association
Dear Advice Person Lady: Advice for Writers
Writers are neurotic. Are we more neurotic than other artists? Definitely. And it’s time we had our own advice column. A Dear Abby for our literary breakdowns. And if I have to volunteer to be that person, so be it. The letters have been pouring in—which is weird, because
Far Beyond the Pale in 1970’s Missouri: A Tiny Interview With Daren Dean
Daren Dean’s novel, Far Beyond the Pale, explores masculinity, religion, and delinquency in a coming of age story set in rural 1970’s Missouri. The novel follows Honeyboy who has moved back to Kingdom County, Missouri along with his mother following a stint in California. They return, in part, to leave
Literary Enemies: Gabriel García Márquez vs. Alejandro Zambra
Literary Enemies: Gabriel García Márquez vs. Alejandro Zambra Disclaimer: García Márquez has no enemies but the F.B.I. A few weeks ago I went to a panel at the National Book Festival that featured Alejandro Zambra, a Chilean writer I like a lot.[1] (Yes, I started reading him because of
An Interview with Jennine Capo Crucet
I first met Jennine on the dance floor in a barn on a summer night at Breadloaf. Or at least I like to remember it that way. She’s an electric person, both in the flesh and on the page. She says the unexpected, and also the uncomfortable and necessary. She’s
Reading as Intoxicant, Part II: Ten Books That Are Basically Drugs
Don’t do drugs, kids; read books instead. More often than not, they inspire the same chemical rush with less brain trauma. Herein is a list of ten books with intoxicating, stimulatory, or hallucinatory qualities for the literarily psychotropically-inclined. Though no doubt many deserving books would be right at home
I Have a Favor to Ask
Is there anything more head-smackingly awkward than asking favors of other writers? You might never have experienced writer’s block in your life, but sit down to compose a 200-word email to the friend you need something from, and find yourself twelve hours later with nothing but a vacuumed carpet.
“It’s A Bit Mysterious, and I Like That”: An Interview with Frank X. Gaspar
Frank X. Gaspar writes poems that are lyrical, powered by swift associations, and full of surprising images and leaps in thought that in retrospect make perfect sense. He is the author of five collections of poems, including Late Rapturous and The Holyoke, as well as two novels, most recently
Sounds Like Your Next Story!
SOUNDS LIKE YOUR NEXT STORY!: a short play with infinite scenes. Cast: The WRITER Well-Meaning FRIENDs and FAMILY SCENE 1: Lights up on the WRITER and a FRIEND, having coffee. WRITER: I forgot to tell you about the date. The guy literally asked the bartender out right in front of me, and so— FRIEND: