Uncategorized Archive
Binding Community: North Branch Projects Turns Pizza Boxes into Books
Frustrated by the gulf between the contemporary art world and the people he cares for most, visual artist and bookbinder Regin Igloria founded North Branch Projects in the Chicago neighborhood where he grew up, Albany Park. In this small, independently run project space, Igloria offers hand bookbinding sessions free of
Literary Boroughs #53: Prague, Czech Republic
The Literary Boroughs series will explore little-known and well-known literary communities across the country and world and show that while literary culture can exist online without regard to geographic location, it also continues to thrive locally. Posts are by no means exhaustive and we encourage our readers to contribute in the comment section. The
My Ideal Bookshelf* (*For Today)
The package arrived earlier than expected, its corners sharp, its weight hardbound. I tore open the seal and inhaled its out-of-print mustiness. This was the book with all the answers. This book contained all I needed in the world right then. Giddily, I flipped through photos of crosscut saws
Everything Old is New Again?
It all started with a VHS copy of Black Christmas. Browsing through discarded copies of Steven Seagal/Jean-Claude Van Damme action trash and forgotten Gen X rom-coms shined a tattered cover with the tagline “If this movie doesn’t make your skin crawl … IT’S ON TOO TIGHT.” The box was a
Bookmarks #1: Grey Matter/Troubadour Books, Hadley, MA
The Bookmarks series will profile unique bookstores and literary spaces across the country. These landmarks, often celebrated within the cities featured in our Literary Boroughs series, are home to myriad readings, panels, classes, workshops, and — of course — books. Posts are merely introductions to these spaces; we encourage
Roundup: All You Need is Love (and a Good Story)
As we launch a new blog format for the new year, we’re also looking back at all the great posts since the blog started in 2009. Our roundups explore the archives and gather past posts around a certain theme to help you jump-start your week. This week we have posts
From the Slush Pile…
It seems clear that what you all want to know is, “How do I get published in Ploughshares?” So, lets start at the beginning. Literally. If you want to get out of the slush pile, one of the worst things you can do is write a lackluster first paragraph.
Experiments I Should Like Tried at My Own Death
Experiments I Should Like Tried at My Own Death Caryl Pagel Factory Hollow Press, September 2012 78 pages $15.00 Editor’s note: P. Scott Stanfield holds a Ph.D. in English and teaches literature at Nebraska Wesleyan University. Recently, I challenged him to see how many references to other works and
Dead Poets on a Modern-day Road Trip
Last June, we were both newly mastered. Me, an MFA in writing. Her, as an RN, MSN, CPNP-PC, PHNL. And we were taking a Pacific Northwest road trip to celebrate. But first we had to leave Portland. And before that, we had to find the right books.
The Best Story I Read in a Lit Mag This Week: “My Parasite” by Gina Frangello
The thing about a well-developed setting is that in many ways it’s invisible: it’s hidden in a sentence that reveals a character’s flaw, it sits quietly beside an emotional truth, it’s the catalyst for a surprising behavior. Setting grounds us in a specific context so that we can believe